DETECTION OF THE SECOND r-PROCESS PEAK ELEMENT TELLURIUM IN METAL-POOR STARS ,

Journal Article · Thu Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/747/1/L8· OSTI ID:22048020

Roederer, Ian U ^[1]; Lawler, James E ^[2]; Cowan, John J ^[3]; Beers, Timothy C ^[4]; Frebel, Anna ^[5]; Ivans, Inese I ^[6]; Schatz, Hendrik ^[7]; Sobeck, Jennifer S ^[8]; Sneden, Christopher ^[9]

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1. Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)
3. Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 (United States)
4. National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
6. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)
7. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)
8. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
9. Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

Using near-ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope, we detect neutral tellurium in three metal-poor stars enriched by products of r-process nucleosynthesis, BD +17 3248, HD 108317, and HD 128279. Tellurium (Te, Z = 52) is found at the second r-process peak (A Almost-Equal-To 130) associated with the N = 82 neutron shell closure, and it has not been detected previously in Galactic halo stars. The derived tellurium abundances match the scaled solar system r-process distribution within the uncertainties, confirming the predicted second peak r-process residuals. These results suggest that tellurium is predominantly produced in the main component of the r-process, along with the rare earth elements.

• OSTI ID: 22048020
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 747, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
R PROCESS
RARE EARTHS
SOLAR SYSTEM
SPACE
STARS
TELESCOPES
TELLURIUM
ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA