Production of the Heavy Elements in the Universe

Details Production of the Heavy Elements in the Universe Production of the Heavy Elements in the Universe

Jul 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009hst..prop12268r&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #12268. Cycle 18

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Scientific paper

We propose to use STIS to observe a sample of 4 metal-poor stars that have been enriched by only a small amount of material produced by the rapid neutron-capture process {r-process}. These "r-poor" stars have 10-100 times less r-process material than the "r-rich" stars at similar metallicities {-2.5 < [Fe/H] < -1.7}. The r-poor stars fill in a crucial gap in our understanding of how the heavy elements were produced in the early Galaxy by revealing whether there is a continuous distribution of r-process abundance patterns between the most strongly r-enriched stars and those with only a trace of r-process enrichment. Guided by our previous STIS observing experience, we will obtain high S/N near-UV spectra {S/N = 50 near 230.0 nm and increasing to longer wavelengths} to derive abundances or meaningful upper limits for the heavy elements Ge, Zr, Cd, Lu, Os, Pt, and Pb. All of these elements {except Pb} can only be detected in very metal-poor stars in the near-UV using HST, and we have already made successful detections of them in r-rich stars. These elements are key to understanding the nature of the r-process in the first generations of stars that drive chemical evolution of the Galaxy. Our proposed observations also have the potential to determine more precise ages for the oldest Galactic halo stars. This work is supported by recent laboratory experiments and theoretical studies and will provide data of wider interest to the atomic, nuclear, and astrophysics communities.;

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