The
Context. The astrophysical origin of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process), responsible for producing roughly half of the elements heavier than iron, remains uncertain. Detailed chemical signatures from the oldest, most metal-poor stars, which act as fossil records of the earliest nucleosynthesis events, can be used to identify the dominant r-process sites. Aims. We present a homogeneous chemical abundance analysis of ten r-process element-enhanced stars. These old and metal-poor stars are strongly enriched in r-process elements with minimal contamination from other nucleosynthetic sources. By focusing on this chemically pure sample, we aim to investigate intrinsic variations in the r-process abundance patterns and explore their implications for the nature and potential diversity of r-process sites. Methods. We performed a detailed chemical abundance analysis of high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise spectra. For each star, we inspected over 1400 individual absorption lines using a combination of equivalent width measurements and spectral synthesis. The analysis was conducted under the assumption of 1D local thermodynamic equilibrium and employing the <ns0:monospace>MOOG</ns0:monospace> radiative transfer code. Results. We derived abundances for 54 chemical species, including 29 neutron-capture (n-capture) elements, covering the full mass range of the r-process abundance pattern. A kinematic analysis reveals that stars likely originated from ten kinematically distinct systems. Based on this assumption, we used the sample to probe the maximum variation expected from ten independent r-process nucleosynthesis events and computed the intrinsic dispersion of each element relative to Zr and Eu for the light and heavy r-process elements, respectively. This exercise resulted in a remarkably low cosmic scatter across the ten r-process sites enriching these stars; for the rare earth and third peak elements, for example, we find σ[La/Eu] = 0.08 and σ[Os/Eu] = 0.11 dex, while the scatter between light and heavy elements, σ[Zr/Eu], is slightly higher at 0.18 dex. Conclusions. The elemental abundance patterns across the ten independent r-process sites show remarkably small cosmic dispersions. This minimal dispersion suggests a high degree of uniformity in r-process yields across diverse astrophysical environments.
Authors
- I. U. Roederer
- M. Racca
- C. M. Sakari
- Ø. Harket
- E. M. Holmbeck
- C. Sneden
- V. M. Placco
- T. T. Hansen
- J. D. Simon
- T. C. Beers
- A. Frebel
- I. B. Thompson
- R. Ezzeddine
- S. Monty
Publication Details
- Journal
- Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
- Published
- 2025-12-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556947/pdf
- Primary Topic
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00