Neutron-capture elements in halo, thick-disk, and thin-disk stars. Strontium, yttrium, zirconium, cerium

We derived Sr, Y, Zr, and Ce abundances for a sample of 74 cool dwarfs and subgiants with iron abundances, [Fe/H], between 0.25 and ?2.43. These estimates were obtained using synthetic spectra, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for Y, Zr, and Ce, allowing for non-LTE conditions for Sr. We used high-resolution (λ/Δλ?40 000 and 60 000) spectra with signal-to-noise ratios between 50 and 200. We find that the Zr/Y, Sr/Y, and Sr/Zr ratios for the halo stars are the same in a wide metallicity range (?2.43 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ ?0.90), within the errors, indicating a common origin for these elements at the epoch of halo formation. The Zr/Y ratios for thick-disk stars quickly decrease with increasing Ba abundance, indicating a lower rate of production of Zr compared to Y during active thick-disk formation. The thick-disk and halo stars display an increase in the [Zr/Ba] ratio with decreasing Ba abundance and a correlation of the Zr and Eu overabundances relative to Ba. The evolutionary behavior of the abundance ratios found for the thick-disk and halo stars does not agree with current models for the Galaxy’s chemical evolution. The abundance ratios of Y and Zr to Fe and Ba for thin-disk stars, as well as the abundance ratios within each group, are, on average, solar, though we note a slight decrease of Zr/Ba and Zr/Y with increasing Ba abundance. These results provide evidence for a dominance of asymptotic-giant-branch stars in the enrichment of the interstellar medium in heavy elements during the thin-disk epoch, in agreement with the predictions of the nucleosynthesis theory for the main s-process component.     

Neutron-capture elements in halo,thick-disk,and thin-disk stars: Neodymium

We have derived the LTE neodymium abundances in 60 cool stars with metallicities [Fe/H] from 0.25 to ?1.71 by applying a synthetic-spectrum analysis to spectroscopic observations of NdII lines with a resolution of λ/Δλ?60 000 and signal-to-noise ratios of 100–200. We have improved the atomic parameters of NdII and blending lines by analyzing the corresponding line pro files in the solar spectrum. Neodymium is overabundant with respect to iron in halo stars, [Nd/Fe]=0.33±0.09, with the [Nd/Fe] ratio decreasing systematically with metallicity when [Fe/H]>?1. This reflects an onset of efficient iron production in type I supernovae during the formation of the thick disk. The [Nd/Ba] and [Nd/Eu] abundance ratios behave differently in halo, thick-disk, and thin-disk stars. The observed abundance ratios in halo stars, [Nd/Ba]=0.34±0.08 and [Nd/Eu]=?0.27±0.05, agree within the errors with the ratios of the elemental yields for the r-process. These results support the conclusion of other authors based on analyses of other elements that the r-process played the dominant role in the synthesis of heavy elements during the formation of the halo. The [Nd/Ba] and [Nd/Eu] ratios for thick-disk stars are almost independent of metallicity ([Nd/Ba]=0.28(±0.03)?0.01(±0.04) [Fe/H] and [Nd/Eu]=?0.13(±0.03)+0.05(±0.04) [Fe/H]) but are smaller in absolute value than the corresponding ratios for halo stars, suggesting that the synthesis of s-process nuclei started during the formation of the thick disk. The s-process is estimated to have contributed ?30% of the neodymium produced during this stage of the evolution of the Galaxy. The [Nd/Ba] ratio decreases abruptly by 0.17 dex in the transition from the thick to the thin disk. The systematic decrease of [Nd/Ba] and increase of [Nd/Eu] with increasing metallicity of thin-disk stars point toward a dominant role of the s-process in the synthesis of heavy elements during this epoch.