May 9, 2006
We investigate the impact of realistic 3D hydrodynamical model stellar atmospheres on the determination of elemental abundances in the carbon-rich, hyper iron-poor stars HE0107-5240 and HE1327-2326. We derive the chemical compositions of the two stars by means of a detailed 3D analysis of spectral lines under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The lower temperatures of the line-forming regions of the hydrodynamical models cause changes in the predicted spectral line strengths. In particular we find the 3D abundances of C, N, and O to be lower by ~ -0.8 dex (or more) than estimated from a 1D analysis. The 3D abundances of iron-peak elements are also decreased but by smaller factors (~ -0.2 dex). We caution however that the neglected non-LTE effects might actually be substantial for these metals. We finally discuss possible implications for studies of early Galactic chemical evolution.
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August 7, 2008
I present here the main results of recent realistic, 3D, hydrodynamical simulations of convection at the surface of metal-poor red giant stars. I discuss the application of these convection simulations as time-dependent, 3D, hydrodynamical model atmospheres to spectral line formation calculations and abundance analyses. The impact of 3D models on derived elemental abundances is investigated by means of a differential comparison of the line strengths predicted in 3D under the ...
February 13, 2004
Two alternative scenarios concerning the origin and evolution of extremely metal-poor halo stars are investigated. The first one assumes that the stars have been completely metal-free initially and produced observed carbon and nitrogen overabundances during the peculiar core helium flash typical for low-mass Population-III stars. The second scenario assumes that the initial composition resulted from a mixture of primordial material with ejecta from a single primordial superno...
July 18, 2007
We report the discovery and high-resolution, high S/N, spectroscopic analysis of the ultra-metal-poor red giant HE 0557-4840, which is the third most heavy-element deficient star currently known. Its atmospheric parameters are T_eff = 4900 K, log g = 2.2, and [Fe/H]= -4.75. This brings the number of stars with [Fe/H] < -4.0 to three, and the discovery of HE 0557-4840 suggests that the metallicity distribution function of the Galactic halo does not have a "gap" between [Fe/H] ...
January 11, 2019
Carbon and oxygen are key tracers of the Galactic chemical evolution; in particular, a reported upturn in [C/O] towards decreasing [O/H] in metal-poor halo stars could be a signature of nucleosynthesis by massive Population III stars. We reanalyse carbon, oxygen, and iron abundances in thirty-nine metal-poor turn-off stars. For the first time, we take into account three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic effects together with departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) w...
November 7, 2003
We report a detailed abundance analysis for HE0107-5240, a halo giant with [Fe/H]_NLTE=-5.3. This star was discovered in the course of follow-up medium-resolution spectroscopy of extremely metal-poor candidates selected from the digitized Hamburg/ESO objective-prism survey. On the basis of high-resolution VLT/UVES spectra, we derive abundances for 8 elements (C, N, Na, Mg, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Ni), and upper limits for another 12 elements. A plane-parallel LTE model atmosphere has...
May 21, 2008
We present a new abundance analysis of HE 1327-2326, the currently most iron-poor star, based on observational data obtained with VLT/UVES. We correct the 1D LTE abundances for 3D effects to provide an abundance pattern that supersedes previous works, and should be used to observationally test current models of the chemical yields of the first-generation SNe. Apart from confirming the 1D LTE abundances found in previous studies before accounting for 3D effects, we make use of...
August 2, 2022
Elemental abundances of extrinsic carbon stars provide insight into the poorly understood origin and evolution of elements in the early Galaxy. In this work, we present the results of a detailed spectroscopic analysis of four potential carbon star candidates from the Hamburg/ESO Survey (HES) HE~0457$-$1805, HE~0920$-$0506, HE~1241$-$0337, and HE~1327$-$2116. This analysis is based on the high-resolution spectra obtained with Mercator/HERMES (R$\sim$86,000) and SUBARU/HDS (R$\...
October 1, 2008
We present new measurements of the abundances of carbon and oxygen derived from high-excitation C I and O I absorption lines in metal-poor halo stars, with the aim of clarifying the main sources of these two elements in the early stages of the chemical enrichment of the Galaxy. We target 15 new stars compared to our previous study, with an emphasis on additional C/O determinations in the crucial metallicity range -3<[Fe/H]<-2. Departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium w...
August 27, 2019
The abundances of carbon, oxygen, and iron in late-type stars are important parameters in exoplanetary and stellar physics, as well as key tracers of stellar populations and Galactic chemical evolution. We carried out three-dimensional (3D) non-LTE radiative transfer calculations for CI and OI, and 3D LTE radiative transfer calculations for FeII, across the STAGGER-grid of 3D hydrodynamic model atmospheres. The absolute 3D non-LTE versus 1D LTE abundance corrections can be as...
September 5, 2009
We present a detailed analysis of the carbon and nitrogen abundances of two dwarf carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars: SDSS J1349-0229 and SDSS J0912+0216. We also report the oxygen abundance of SDSS J1349-0229. These stars are metal-poor, with [Fe/H] < -2.5, and were selected from our ongoing survey of extremely metal-poor dwarf candidates from the Sloan Digital SkySurvey (SDSS). The carbon, nitrogen and oxygen abundances rely on molecular lines which form in the outer l...