Abundances in Halo Stars and Galactic Element Formation

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

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Hst Proposal Id #8342 Cool Stars

Scientific paper

We propose to measure the abundances of a wide array of elements ranging from light neutron-capture elements {such as germanium} up to the very heaviest such elements {including platinum and lead} in a number of very old, metal-poor halo stars. These elements, synthesized in stellar interiors by r{apid} and s{low} neutron capture processes, had, until our very recent successful detections in Cycles 5 and 6, never before been observed in metal-poor stars because their only strong lines lie in the ultraviolet spectral region. The abundance data of both the lighter and heavier neutron-capture elements in the same stars will be critical to an understanding of the early star formation, nucleosynthetic history and associated chemical evolution of our Galaxy. Employing the HST data of the most massive stable elements to define the initial abundances of the radioactive elements {particularly thorium}, we will also determine the chronometric {radioactive-decay} ages of our target stars, and thus define an actual age-metallicity relationship for the halo stars in the Galaxy. Our results for the very oldest Galactic stars will also provide an important, and independent, age determination for the Galaxy and hence constrain cosmological age estimates.

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