Non-LTE effects on the lead and thorium abundance determinations for cool stars

Knowing accurate Pb abundances of metal-poor stars provides constraints on the Pb production mechanisms in the early Galaxy. Accurately deriving Th abundances permits a nucleo-chronometric age determination of the star. We improve the calculation of the Pb I and Th II lines in stellar atmospheres based on non-LTE line formation and evaluate the influence of departures from LTE on Pb and Th abundance determinations through a range of stellar parameters. Comprehensive model atoms for Pb I and Th II are presented. The departures from LTE lead to systematically depleted total absorption in the Pb I lines and positive abundance corrections. Non-LTE removes the discrepancy between the solar and the meteoritic Pb abundance. With the Holweger & Mueller (1974) solar model atmosphere, log eps(Pb, non-LTE) = 2.09. We revise the Pb and Eu abundances of the strongly r-process enhanced (r-II) stars CS 31082-001 and HE 1523-0901 and the Roederer et al. (2010) stellar sample. Our results provide strong evidence for universal Pb/Eu relative r-process yields during course of the Galaxy evolution. The stars with -2.3<[Fe/H]< -1.4 have, on average, 0.51 dex higher Pb/Eu ratios compared with that of the r-II stars suggesting that the s-process synthesis of Pb started as early as the time when Galactic metallicity had grown to [Fe/H] = -2.3. The average Pb/Eu ratio of the -1.4<[Fe/H]< -0.59 stars is close to the solar value, in line with the predictions of Travaglio et al. (2001) that AGB stars with [Fe/H] ~ -1 provided the largest contribution to the solar s-nuclei of Pb. Non-LTE leads to weakened Th II lines. Overall, the abundance correction does not exceed +0.2 dex when collisions with H I atoms are taken into account in non-LTE calculations.Comment: A&A accepted: 12 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

Non-LTE line formation for Pr II and Pr III in A and Ap stars

Non-LTE line formation for Pr II and Pr III is considered through a range of effective temperatures between 7250 K and 9500 K. A comprehensive model atom for Pr II/III is based on the measured and the predicted energy levels, in total, 6708 levels of Pr II and Pr III. We describe calculations of the Pr II energy levels and oscillator strengths for the transitions in Pr II and Pr III. The influence of departures from LTE on Pr abundance determinations is evaluated. At Teff >= 8000 K departures from LTE lead to overionization of Pr II and to systematically depleted total absorption in the line and positive abundance corrections. At the lower temperatures, different lines of Pr II may be either weakened or amplified depending on the line strength. The non-LTE effects strengthen the Pr III lines and lead to negative abundance corrections. Non-LTE corrections grow with effective temperature for the Pr II lines, and, in contrast, they decline for the Pr III lines. The Pr II/III model atom is applied to determine the Pr abundance in the atmosphere of the roAp star HD 24712 from the lines of two ionization stages. In the chemically uniform atmosphere with [Pr/H] = 3, the departures from LTE may explain only small part (0.3 dex) of the difference between the LTE abundances derived from the Pr II and Pr III lines (2 dex). We find that the lines of both ionization stages are described for the vertical distribution of the praseodymium where the Pr enriched layer with [Pr/H] > 4 exists in the outer atmosphere at log tau_5000 < -4. The departures from LTE for Pr II/III are strong in the stratified atmosphere and have the opposite sign for the Pr II and Pr III lines. Using the revised partition function of Pr II and experimental transition probabilities, we determine the solar non-LTE abundance of Pr as log (Pr/H) = -11.15\pm0.08.Comment: 17 pages, 4 tables, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Chemical abundances of distant extremely metal-poor unevolved stars

Aims: The purpose of our study is to determine the chemical composition of a sample of 16 candidate Extremely Metal-Poor (EMP) dwarf stars, extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). There are two main purposes: in the first place to verify the reliability of the metallicity estimates derived from the SDSS spectra; in the second place to see if the abundance trends found for the brighter nearer stars studied previously also hold for this sample of fainter, more distant stars. Methods: We used the UVES at the VLT to obtain high-resolution spectra of the programme stars. The abundances were determined by an automatic analysis with the MyGIsFOS code, with the exception of lithium, for which the abundances were determined from the measured equivalent widths of the Li I resonance doublet. Results: All candidates are confirmed to be EMP stars, with [Fe/H]<= -3.0. The chemical composition of the sample of stars is similar to that of brighter and nearer samples. We measured the lithium abundance for 12 stars and provide stringent upper limits for three other stars, for a fourth star the upper limit is not significant, owing to the low signal-to noise ratio of the spectrum. The "meltdown" of the Spite plateau is confirmed, but some of the lowest metallicity stars of the sample lie on the plateau. Conclusions: The concordance of the metallicities derived from high-resolution spectra and those estimated from the SDSS spectra suggests that the latter may be used to study the metallicity distribution of the halo. The abundance pattern suggests that the halo was well mixed for all probed metallicities and distances. The fact that at the lowest metallicities we find stars on the Spite plateau suggests that the meltdown depends on at least another parameter, besides metallicity. (abridged)Comment: A&A in pres

Rare-earth elements in the atmosphere of the magnetic chemically peculiar star HD 144897. New classification of the Nd III spectrum

We have obtained a UVES spectrum of a slowly rotating strongly magnetic Ap star, HD 144897, that exhibits very large overabundances of rare-earth elements. Here we present a detailed spectral analysis of this object, also taking into account effects of non-uniform vertical distribution (stratification) of chemical elements. We have determined the photospheric abundances of 40 ions. For seven elements (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe), we have obtained a stratification model that allow us to produce a satisfactory fit to the observed profiles of spectral lines of various strength. REEs abundances, that for the first time in the literature have been determined from the lines of the first and second ions, have been found typically four dex larger than solar abundances. Our analysis of REE spectral lines provide a strong support to the laboratory line classification and determination of the atomic parameters. The only remarkable exception is Nd III, for which spectral synthesis was found to be inconsistent with the observations. We have therefore performed a revision of the Nd III classification. We have confirmed the energies for 11 out of 24 odd energy levels classified previously, and we have derived the energies for additional 24 levels of Nd III, thereby increasing substantially the number of classified Nd III lines with corrected wavelengths and atomic parameters.Comment: 22 pages; accepted by A&

New Rare Earth Element Abundance Distributions for the Sun and Five r-Process-Rich Very Metal-Poor Stars

We have derived new abundances of the rare-earth elements Pr, Dy, Tm, Yb, and Lu for the solar photosphere and for five very metal-poor, neutron-capture r-process-rich giant stars. The photospheric values for all five elements are in good agreement with meteoritic abundances. For the low metallicity sample, these abundances have been combined with new Ce abundances from a companion paper, and reconsideration of a few other elements in individual stars, to produce internally-consistent Ba, rare-earth, and Hf (56<= Z <= 72) element distributions. These have been used in a critical comparison between stellar and solar r-process abundance mixes.Comment: 48 pages, 11 figures, 12 tables: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Supplemen

Lithium on the surface of cool magnetic CP stars. II. Spectrum analysis of HD 83368 and HD 60435 with lithium spots.

As a further step in our Lithium project we present results of abundance determination of some elements in the roAp star HD 60435. Possible NLTE effects were considered. Equivalent widths of spectral lines vary with rotational phase which suggests nonuniform distribution of chemical elements over the stars' surface. Large abundance differences derived from various ions of some rare earth elements indicate their possible vertical stratification. Two spots of enhanced lithium abundance were distinguished at the magnetic poles on HD 60435 and their parameters derived. The rotational axis inclination $i=133^\circ$ or $47^\circ$ and surface magnetic field $H_{\rm s}=3 \pm 1$ kG were determined for the first time for HD 60435. The results are compared with HD 83368, the other star with lines of lithium remarkably variable in intensity and wavelength

The Pristine survey – XII. Gemini-GRACES chemo-dynamical study of newly discovered extremely metal-poor stars in the Galaxy

High-resolution optical spectra of 30 metal-poor stars selected from the Pristine survey are presented, based on observations taken with the Gemini Observatory GRACES spectrograph. Stellar parameters T-eff and logg are determined using a Gaia DR2 colour-temperature calibration and surface gravity from the Stefan-Boltzmann equation. GRACES spectra are used to determine chemical abundances (or upper limits) for 20 elements (Li, O, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Ti, Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Nd, Eu). These stars are confirmed to be metal-poor ([Fe/H]&lt;-2.5), with higher precision than from earlier medium-resolution analyses. The chemistry for most targets is similar to other extremely metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo. Three stars near [Fe/H] = -3.0 have unusually low Ca and high Mg, suggestive of contributions from few SN II where alpha-element formation through hydrostatic nucleosynthesis was more efficient. Three new carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars are also identified (two CEMP-s and one potential CEMP-no star) when our chemical abundances are combined with carbon from previous medium-resolution analyses. The GRACES spectra also provide precision radial velocities (sigma(RV) &lt;= 0.2kms(-1)) for dynamical orbit calculations with the Gaia DR2 proper motions. Most of our targets are dynamically associated with the Galactic halo; however, five stars with [Fe/H]&lt;-3 have planar-like orbits, including one retrograde star. Another five stars are dynamically consistent with the Gaia-Sequoia accretion event; three have typical halo [alpha/Fe] ratios for their metallicities, whereas two are [Mg/Fe]-deficient, and one is a new CEMP-s candidate. These results are discussed in terms of the formation and early chemical evolution of the Galaxy