Barium Abundances from the LAMOST Medium-Resolution Survey Stellar Spectra

Abstract Based on a template-matching method, we estimate the barium (Ba) abundances for stellar spectra from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Medium-Resolution Spectroscopic Survey (MRS). The Ba abundances of 198,011 stars have been determined from MRS spectra with signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) > 40 combined with the stellar atmospheric parameters from the LAMOST Low-Resolution Spectroscopic Survey DR9 by the LAMOST Stellar Parameter Pipeline. The uncertainties in the Ba abundances from the LAMOST MRS spectra are less than 0.3 dex when S/N exceeds 40, which align closely with the results based on the high-resolution UVES spectra from the Gaia-ESO survey obtained by spectral synthesis. Further analysis of Ba abundances from repeated observations of the same stars reveals that random errors related to spectral quality remain below 0.3 dex at the same S/N, with a systematic overestimation for the low-S/N spectra. This extensive sample of stellar Ba abundances will enhance studies of the s -, i -, and r -processes, and deepen our understanding of the chemical-evolution history of the Milky Way.