p-capture reaction cycles in rotating massive stars and their impact on elemental abundances in globular cluster stars: A case study of O, Na and Al

Elemental abundance patterns of globular cluster stars can provide important clues for understanding cluster formation and early chemical evolution.The origin of the abundance patterns,however,still remains poorly understood.We have studied the impact of p-capture reaction cycles on the abundances of oxygen,sodium and aluminium considering nuclear reaction cycles of carbon-nitrogenoxygen-fluorine,neon-sodium and magnesium-aluminium in massive stars in stellar conditions of temperature range 2×107to 10×107K and typical density of 102gm cc-1.We have estimated abundances of oxygen,sodium and aluminium with respect to Fe,which are then assumed to be ejected from those stars because of rotation reaching a critical limit.These ejected abundances of elements are then compared with their counterparts that have been observed in some metal-poor evolved stars,mainly giants and red giants,of globular clusters M3,M4,M13 and NGC 6752.We observe an excellent agreement with[O/Fe]between the estimated and observed abundance values for globular clusters M3 and M4 with a correlation coefficient above 0.9 and a strong linear correlation for the remaining two clusters with a correlation coefficient above 0.7.The estimated[Na/Fe]is found to have a correlation coefficient above 0.7,thus implying a strong correlation for all four globular clusters.As far as[Al/Fe]is concerned,it also shows a strong correlation between the estimated abundance and the observed abundance for globular clusters M13 and NGC 6752,since here also the correlation coefficient is above 0.7 whereas for globular cluster M4 there is a moderate correlation found with a correlation coefficient above 0.6.Possible sources of these discrepancies are discussed.

Data Analysis of Chang'E-1 Gamma-Ray Spectrometer and Global Distribution of U,K,and Th Elemental Abundances

Gamma-ray spectrometer （GRS） is one of the main payloads on the Chang＇E-1 （CE-1） lunar probe, mainly aimed to detect the elemental abundances and distributions on the lunar surface. At 03：58 on 28 November 2007, it performed the first observation of the lunar gamma rays. As of 24 October 2008, 2105 h of effective gamma rays spectra had been acquired by CE-1 GRS, which covers the whole surface of the moon. This paper mainly describes the data processing procedures and methods of deriving the elemental abundances by using the CE-1 GRS time series corrected spectra： first, to bin data into pixels for mapping; then, to perform a background deduction of the cumulative spectra and obtain a peak area of the elements; and finally, to use the elemental abundances inversion model to produce the elemental abundances. Based on these processing methods, the global abundance maps of U, K, and Th at a 5°×5° equal-area pixel are acquired by CE-1 GRS data. The paper gives a preliminary analysis of the uncertainties of the elemental abundances.

Chemical abundance analysis of 19 barium stars

We aim at deriving accurate atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances of 19 barium（Ba） stars, including both strong and mild Ba stars, based on the high signal-to-noise ratio and high resolution Echelle spectra obtained from the 2.16 m telescope at Xinglong station of National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The chemical abundances of the sample stars were obtained from an LTE, plane-parallel and line-blanketed atmospheric model by inputting the atmospheric parameters（effective temperatures Teff, surface gravities log g, metallicity [Fe/H] and microturbulence velocity ξt） and equivalent widths of stellar absorption lines. These samples of Ba stars are giants as indicated by atmospheric parameters, metallicities and kinematic analysis about UVW velocity. Chemical abundances of 17 elements were obtained for these Ba stars. Their Na, Al, α- and iron-peak elements（O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca,Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni） are similar to the solar abundances. Our samples of Ba stars show obvious overabundances of neutron-capture（n-capture） process elements relative to the Sun. Their median abundances of[Ba/Fe], [La/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] are 0.54, 0.65 and 0.40, respectively. The Y I and Zr I abundances are lower than Ba, La and Eu, but higher than the α- and iron-peak elements for the strong Ba stars and similar to the iron-peak elements for the mild stars. There exists a positive correlation between Ba intensity and [Ba/Fe].For the n-capture elements（Y, Zr, Ba, La）, there is an anti-correlation between their [X/Fe] and [Fe/H]. We identify nine of our sample stars as strong Ba stars with [Ba/Fe]〉0.6 where seven of them have Ba intensity Ba=2-5, one has Ba=1.5 and another one has Ba=1.0. The remaining ten stars are classified as mild Ba stars with 0.17〈[Ba/Fe]〈0.54.

Lithium Abundance of Metal-poor Stars

High-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra have been obtained for 32 metal-poor stars. The equivalent widths of Li γ6708 ? were measured and the lithium abundances were derived. The average lithium abundance of 21 stars on the lithium plateau is 2.33±0.02 dex. The Lithium plateau exhibits a marginal trend along metallicity, dA(Li)/d[Fe/H] = 0.12±0.06, and no clear trend with the effective temperature. The trend indicates that the abundance of lithium plateau may not be primordial and that a part of the lithium was produced in Galactic Chemical Evolution (GCE).

Can active late-type stars contribute to the Galactic lithium abundance?

Lithium abundances in our Galaxy and especially 6 Li abundances provide important constraints on our understanding of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis(BBNS),stellar evolution and the creation of light elements by cosmic rays in the ISM.~6 Li has been detected in energetic solar events,one chromospherically active binary and several dwarf halo stars.Continuing our work on active late-type stars with high lithium abundances,we expand our study to consider if the flare origin of lithium created by spallation can contribute significantly to the Galactic abundance of lithium.We previously derived ~6 Li/~7 Li=0.030 ± 0.010 for active K dwarf GJ 117 using VLT UVES observations.We find^6 Li/~7 Li ratios of 0.02 and 0.10 for two other stars in our sample,GJ 182 and EUVE J1145-55.3 A,respectively.Considering that these later type,active stars have significant flare rates and stellar winds,we have estimated the contribution of these stars to the Galactic lithium abundance.Given that K and M stars comprise over 84% of our Galaxy and that many of these can have significant stellar winds,we conclude that spallation in stellar flares can contribute 1% and up to 5% of the Galactic lithium abundance.

Chemical abundances of three new Ba stars from the Keck/HIRES spectra

Based on high resolution,high signal-to-noise(S/N)ratio spectra from Keck/HIRES,we have determined abundances of 20 elements for 18 Ba candidates.The parameter space of these stars is in the range of 4880≤Teff≤6050 K,2.56≤log g≤4.53 dex and-0.27≤[Fe/H]≤0.09 dex.It is found that four of them can be identified as Ba stars with[s/Fe]>0.25 dex(s:Sr,Y,Zr,Ba,La,Ce and Nd),and three of them are newly discovered,which include two Ba giants(HD 16178 and HD 22233)and one Ba subgiant(HD 2946).Our results show that the abundances ofα,odd and iron-peak elements(O,Na,Mg,Al,Si,Ca,Sc,Ti,Mn,Ni and Cu)for our program stars are similar to those of the thin disk,while the distribution of[hs/ls](hs:Ba,La,Ce and Nd,ls:Sr,Y and Zr)ratios of our Ba stars is similar to those of the known Ba objects.None of the four Ba stars show clear enhancement in carbon including the known CH subgiant HD 4395.It is found that three of the Ba stars present clear evidence of hosting stellar or sub-stellar companions from the radial velocity data.

Sodium Abundances in Very Metal-poor Stars

Chemical composition of very metal-poor(VMP)stars can provide observational constraints on current models of nucleosynthesis and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy.It has been found that the scatter of[Na/Fe]versus[Fe/H]in VMP stars is very large in contrast with most other elements.Moreover,a negative slope in[Na/Fe]versus[Fe/H]was found for giants,which is very unlikely according to the theory of nucleosynthesis.For the sample of93 VMP stars in the metallicity range-4.25<[Fe/H]<-1.64 we obtained NLTE sodium abundances using the line profile fitting method by employing accurate atmospheric parameters determined when taking into account NLTE line formation for both FeⅠand FeⅡ.Originally selected from the LAMOST low-resolution spectral database,the spectra of stars were obtained with the High Dispersion Spectrograph of the Subaru Telescope.For 57turn-off stars in metallicity domain-3.04<[Fe/H]<-1.64,we obtained mean[Na/Fe]=-0.29±0.14 and positive slope 0.09±0.06.For 21 giants distributed over metallicity-3.59<[Fe/H]<-2.19,we found mean[Na/Fe]=-0.35±0.1 and positive slope 0.07±0.07.Our[Na/Fe]trend is lower by~0.2 dex,compared to the modern GCE model.We believe the GCE model should be adjusted,by considering the associated scatter.Twelve stars in our sample are found to be outliers,with too low or too high Na abundances.

A Study of Elemental Abundance Pattern of the r-II Star HD 222925

HD 222925 is a rare r-process enhanced star in the Milky Way because of its metal abundance([Fe/H]=-1.46±0.10)and Eu abundance([Eu/Fe]=1.32±0.08).Based on the very complete set of elemental abundances of HD 222925,we use the abundance decomposition method to fit the observed abundances of 58elements in the sample star,which is also the largest number of elemental abundances fitted at the same time for a fixed star.We analyze the astrophysical origins of elements in HD 222925 by its abundance ratios and component ratios.It is found that the light elements and the iron group elements in HD 222925 mainly originate from the primary process of the TypeⅡsupernovae(SNeⅡ)with the progenitor mass M>10 M_(⊙)and have no contribution from SNe Ia and the first generation of very massive stars.The contribution of the weak r-process to Ga,Ge,and As is superior to that of the other processes,and its contribution decreases linearly with increasing atomic number.The main r-process that is likely derived from a neutron star merger plays a key role in the formation of neutroncapture elements(Z≥38)in HD 222925.

Abundances of 23 field RR Lyrae stars

We present stellar parameters and abundances of 15 elements （Na, Mg, A1, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Y and Ba） for 23 field RR Lyrae variables based on high-resolution （R ~ 60 000） and high signal-to-noise （S/N~ 200） spectra obtained using the High Dispersion Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope. Six stars in the sample have more than one spectrum observed at different pulsation phases. The derived abundance ratios of [X/Fe] for 14 elements （except for Ba） do not vary during the pulsation cycle. An interesting curve of [Ba/Fe] versus phase is detected for the first time and it shows decreasing [Ba/Fe] with increasing temperature at a given metallicity. Combining with data in the literature, abundances of most RR Lyrae stars as a function of [Fe/H] follow the same trends as those of dwarf stars, but [Sc/Fe] and [Y/Fe] ratios of RR Lyrae stars at solar metallicity are lower than those of dwarf stars. The kinematics of RR Lyrae stars indicate that three comparatively metal-rich RR Lyrae stars might originate from the thick disk and they show higher [a/Fe] ratios than RR Lyrae stars with thin disk kinematics. Among 23 RR Lyrae stars, two special objects are found with abnormal abundances; TV Lib has high [a/Fe], [Sc/Fe], [Y/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] ratios while TW Her has solar [a/Fe] but significantly lower [Sc/Fe], [Y/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] ratios as compared with other RR Lyrae stars.

Abundance analysis of Barium stars

We obtain the chemical abundances of six barium stars and two CH subgiant stars based on the high signal-to-noise ratio and high resolution EcheUe spectra. The neu-Iron capture process elements Y, Zr, Ba, La and Eu show obvious overabundances relative to the Sun, for example, their [Ba/Fe] values are from 0.45 to 1.27. Other elements, including Na, Mg, A1, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn and Ni, show comparable abundances to the Solar ones, and their [Fe/H] covers a range from -0.40 to 0.21, which means they belong to the Galactic disk. The predictions of the theoretical model of wind accretion for binary systems can explain the observed abundance patterns of the neutron capture process elements in these stars, which means that their overabundant heavy-elements could be caused by accreting the ejecta of AGB stars, the progenitors of present-day white dwarf companions in binary systems.

A Statistical Model for Predicting the Average Abundance Patterns of Heavier Elements in Metal-Poor Stars

We have collected nearly all the available observed data of the elements from Ba to Dy in halo and disk stars in the metallicity range -4.0 <[Fe/H]< 0.5. Based on the observed data of Ba and Eu, we evaluated the least-squares regressions of [Ba/Fe] on [Fe/H], and [Eu/H] on [Ba/H]. Assuming that the heavy elements (heavier than Ba) are produced by a combination of the main components of s- and r-processes in metal-poor stars, and choosing Ba and Eu as respective representative elements of the main s- and the main r-processes, a statistical model for predicting the Galactic chemical evolution of the heavy elements is presented. With this model, we calculate the mean abundance trends of the heavy elements La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Dy with the metallicity. We compare our results with the observed data at various metallicities, showing that the predicted trends are in good agreement with the observed trends, at least for the metallicity range [Fe/H]≥ -2.5. Finally, we discuss our results and deduce some important information about the Galactic chemical evolution.

Non-LTE Analysis of the Sodium Abundance of Metal- Poor Stars in the Galactic Disk and Halo

We performed an extensive non-LTE analysis of the neutral sodium lines of Na I 5683/5688, 5890/5896, 6154/6161, and 8183/8195 in disk/halo stars of types F-K covering a wide metallicity range (-4 (?) [Fe/H] (?) +0.4), using our own data as well as data collected from the literature. For comparatively metal-rich disk stars (-1(?) [Fe/H] (?) +0.4) where the weaker 6154/6161 lines are the best abundance indicators, we confirmed [Na/Fe]- 0 with an 'upturn' (i.e., a shallow/broad dip around -0.5 (?) [Fe/H](?) 0) as already reported in previous studies. For the metal-deficient halo stars, where the much stronger 5890/5896 or 8183/8195 lines subject to considerable (negative) non-LTE corrections amounting to 0.5 dex have to be used, our analysis suggests mildly 'subsolar' [Na/Fe] values down to--0.4 (with a somewhat large scatter of-±0.2 dex) on the average at the typical halo metallicity of [Fe/H] --2, followed by a rise again to a near-solar ratio of [Na/Fe] - 0 at the very metal-poor regime [Fe/H]--3 to -4. These results are discussed in comparison with the previous observational studies along with the theoretical predictions from the available chemical evolution models.

Research on the inversion of elemental abundances from Chang'E-2 X-ray spectrometry data

The elemental abundances of lunar surface are the important clues to study the formation and evolution history of the Moon. In 2010, China's Chang'E-2(CE-2) lunar orbiter carried a set of X-ray spectrometer(XRS) to investigate the elemental abundances of the lunar surface. During CE-2's life span around the Moon, the XRS experienced several events of solar flare. The X-ray solar monitor onboard recorded the spectra of solar X-rays at the same time. In this paper, we introduced the XRS instrument and data product. We analyzed the characteristics of the XRS data. Using the data obtained during an M solar flare event which had occurred on Feb. 16, 2011, we derived the elemental abundances of Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe of the lunar surface in the Oceanus Procellarum. Finally, we discussed the factors that influence the accuracy of the inversion.

The Impact of Nova Outbursts on the Chemical Abundance of the Interstellar Medium

Nova outbursts are the results of thermonuclear runaways,which occur when sufficient material accretes on the surfaces of white dwarfs(WDs).Using the MESA code,we construct a detailed grid for carbon-oxygen and oxygen-neon-magnesium novae.By employing population synthesis methods,we conduct a statistical analysis of the distribution of novae in the Milky Way.In our models,on average,a typical nova system may undergo about8000 eruptions and the Galactic nova rate is~130 yr^(-1).The C,N,and O elements in nova ejecta are strongly affected by the mixing degree between WD core and accreted material.Our results show that the average value of^(12)C/^(13)C in nova ejecta is about an order of magnitude lower than that on the surface of a red giant,that for^(16)O/^(17)O is about 5 times lower,and that for^(14)N/^(15)N is about 1.5 times lower.The annual yields of^(13)C,^(15)N,and^(17)O from nova ejection are larger than those from AGB stars.This indicates that compared to a red giant,nova eruptions are a more important source of the odd-numbered nuclear elements of^(13)C,^(15)N,and^(17)O in the Galactic interstellar medium.

On the Identification of N-rich Metal-poor Field Stars with Future Chinese Space Station Telescope

During the long term evolution of globular clusters(GCs), some member stars are lost to the field. The recently found nitrogen-rich(N-rich) metal-poor field stars are promising candidates of these GC escapees, since N enhancement is the fingerprint of chemically enhanced populations in GCs. In this work, we discuss the possibility of identifying N-rich metal-poor field stars with the upcoming Chinese Space Station Telescope(CSST). We focus on the main survey camera with NUV, u, g, r, i, z, y filters and slitless spectrograph with a resolution about 200.The combination of UV sensitive equipment and prominent N-related molecular lines in the UV band bodes well for the identification: the color–color diagram of(u-g) versus(g-r) is capable of separating N-rich field stars from normal halo stars, if metallicity can be estimated without using the information on u-band photometry.Besides, the synthetic spectra show that a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 is sufficient to identify N-rich field stars. In the near future, a large sample of N-rich field stars found by CSST, combined with state-of-the-art N-body simulations will be crucial to deciphering GC-Galaxy co-evolution.

A search for strongly Mg-enhanced stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Strongly Mg-enhanced stars with [Mg/Fe] 〉 1.0 show peculiar abundance patterns and hence are of great interest for our understanding of stellar formation and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. A systematic search for strongly Mg-enhanced stars based on low-resolution （R≈2000） spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） is carried out by finding the synthetic spectrum that best matches the observed one in the region of Mg I b lines around λ5170 ,A via a profile matching method. The advantage of our method is that fitting parameters are refined by reproducing the [Mg/Fe] ratios of 47 stars from the very precise high-resolution spectroscopic （HRS） analysis by Nissen ＆ Schuster; and these parameters are crucial to the precision and validity of the derived Mg abundances. As a further check of our method, Mg abun- dances are estimated with our method for member stars in four Galactic globular clus- ters （M92, M 13, M3, M71） which cover the same metallicity range as our sample, and the results are in good agreement with those of HRS analysis in the literature. The val- idation of our method is also demonstrated by the agreement of [Mg/Fe] between our values and those of HRS analysis by Aoki et al. Finally, 33 candidates of strongly Mg- enhanced stars with [Mg/Fe]〉 1.0 are selected from 14 850 F and G stars. Follow-up observations will be carried out on these candidates with high-resolution spectroscopy by large telescopes in the near future, so as to check our selection procedure and to perform a precise and detailed abundance analysis and to explore the origins of these stars.

Radioactive Ages of Metal-Poor Halo Stars

The abundances of long-lived radioactive elements Th and U observed in metal-poor halo stars can be used as chronometers to determine the age of individual stars, and hence set a lower limit on the age of the Galaxy and hence of the universe. This radioactive dating requires the zero-decay productions of Th and U, which involves complicated r-process nucleosynthesis calculations. Several parametric r-process models have been used to calculate the initial abundance ratios of Th/Eu and U/Th, but, due to the sharp sensitivity of these models to nuclear physics inputs, the calculations have relatively large uncertainties which lead to large uncertainties in the age determinations. In order to reduce these uncertainties, we present a simple method to estimate the initial productions of Th and U, which only depends on the solar system abundances and the stellar abundances of stable r-process elements. From our calculations of the initial abundance ratios of Th/Eu and U/Th, we re-estimate the ages of those very metal-poor halo stars with published abundances of Th and U. Our age estimates are consistent, within the errors, with the other age determinations derived from r-process models, and offer useful constrains for r-process theoretical calculations. The advantages and limitations of our simple method of radioactive dating are discussed.

Distributions of Neutron Exposures in AGB Stars and the Galaxy

Based on the s-process nucleosynthesis model with the 13C（α, n）16O reaction occurring under radiative conditions in the interpulse phases, we investigate the characteristics of the distribution of neutron exposure in low-mass Asymptotic Giant Branch （AGB） stars. We introduce a new concept, the distribution of neutron exposures of the Galaxy （NEG）, to study the chemical evolution characteristics of the Galaxy for s-process elements. Using a chemical evolution model of the Galaxy, we develop a model for the NEG and obtain the evolution results of the NEG in different epochs. The present results appear to reasonably reproduce the distribution of neutron exposures of the solar system （hereafter NES）. The main component and the strong component in the NES are built up in different epochs. The strong component of the s-process is mainly synthesised in the low-mass and metal-poor AGB stars, and the main component is produced by the s-process in the low-mass AGB stars with higher metallicities.

A search for Mg-poor stars using LAMOST survey data

Most Galactic metal-poor stars exhibit enhanced α-abundances（e.g.[Mg/Fe] ～ ＋0.4） according to previous studies of stellar chemical compositions.However, a handful of metal-poor stars with large deficiencies in Mg（e.g. [Mg/Fe]～-0.2） show severe departures from this α-enhancement trend. The sub-solar[Mg/Fe] ratios of these anomalous stars indicate that they possess different chemical enrichment histories than the majority of Galactic metal-poor stars. In previous work,we presented a method to select Mg-poor metal-poor stars from low-resolution SDSS spectra based on a spectral matching technique. In this paper, a similar method is applied to low-resolution（R ～ 1800） LAMOST spectra. Stellar [Mg/Fe] abundances are determined by using stellar parameters delivered by the LAMOST Data Release2 catalog. From a sample of ～ 60 000 stars with atmospheric parameters in the range Teff = [5500, 6500] K and [Fe/H] = [-2.4, ＋0.5], we select 15 candidate Mg-poor metal-poor stars.

Application of Random Forest Regressions on Stellar Parameters of A-type Stars and Feature Extraction

Measuring the stellar parameters of A-type stars is more difficult than FGK stars because of the sparse features in their spectra and the degeneracy between effective temperature(T_(eff))and gravity(log g).Modeling the relationship between fundamental stellar parameters and features through machine learning is possible because we can employ the advantage of big data rather than sparse known features.As soon as the model is successfully trained,it can be an efficient approach for predicting Teffand log g for A-type stars especially when there is large uncertainty in the continuum caused by flux calibration or extinction.In this paper,A-type stars are selected from LAMOST DR7 with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 50 and the Teffranging within 7000 to 10,000 K.We perform the Random Forest(RF)algorithm,one of the most widely used machine learning algorithms to establish the regression relationship between the flux of all wavelengths and their corresponding stellar parameters(T_(eff))and(log g)respectively.The trained RF model not only can regress the stellar parameters but also can obtain the rank of the wavelength based on their sensibility to parameters.According to the rankings,we define line indices by merging adjacent wavelengths.The objectively defined line indices in this work are amendments to Lick indices including some weak lines.We use the Support Vector Regression algorithm based on our new defined line indices to measure the temperature and gravity and use some common stars from Simbad to evaluate our result.In addition,the Gaia Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is used for checking the accuracy of Teffand log g.