Arctic Oil and the S.S. Manhattan

The discovery of oil on Alaska’s North Slope in 1968 not only focused attention on that remote part of our world, it set the stage for one of the most exciting and significant scientific expeditions of our time—the voyage of the ice breaking tanker SS Manhattan through the Northwest Passage. In the space available I would like to discuss with you that historic expedition, how it came to be, and comment on the results, as we see them

Searching for Dust around Hyper Metal-Poor Stars

We examine the mid-infrared fluxes and spectral energy distributions for metal-poor stars with iron abundances [Fe/H] $\lesssim-5$, as well as two CEMP-no stars, to eliminate the possibility that their low metallicities are related to the depletion of elements onto dust grains in the formation of a debris disk. Six out of seven stars examined here show no mid-IR excess. These non-detections rule out many types of circumstellar disks, e.g. a warm debris disk ($T\!\le\!290$ K), or debris disks with inner radii $\le1$ AU, such as those associated with the chemically peculiar post-AGB spectroscopic binaries and RV Tau variables. However, we cannot rule out cooler debris disks, nor those with lower flux ratios to their host stars due to, e.g. a smaller disk mass, a larger inner disk radius, an absence of small grains, or even a multicomponent structure, as often found with the chemically peculiar Lambda Bootis stars. The only exception is HE0107-5240, for which a small mid-IR excess near 10 microns is detected at the 2-$\sigma$ level; if the excess is real and associated with this star, it may indicate the presence of (recent) dust-gas winnowing or a binary system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Could the Ultra Metal-poor Stars be Chemically Peculiar and Not Related to the First Stars?

Chemically peculiar stars define a class of stars that show unusual elemental abundances due to stellar photospheric effects and not due to natal variations. In this paper, we compare the elemental abundance patterns of the ultra metal-poor stars with metallicities [Fe/H] $\sim -5$ to those of a subclass of chemically peculiar stars. These include post-AGB stars, RV Tauri variable stars, and the Lambda Bootis stars, which range in mass, age, binarity, and evolutionary status, yet can have iron abundance determinations as low as [Fe/H] $\sim -5$. These chemical peculiarities are interpreted as due to the separation of gas and dust beyond the stellar surface, followed by the accretion of dust depleted-gas. Contrary to this, the elemental abundances in the ultra metal-poor stars are thought to represent yields of the most metal-poor supernova and, therefore, observationally constrain the earliest stages of chemical evolution in the Universe. The abundance of the elements in the photospheres of the ultra metal-poor stars appear to be related to the condensation temperature of that element; if so, then their CNO abundances suggest true metallicities of [X/H]~ -2 to -4, rather than their present metallicities of [Fe/H] < -5.Comment: Accepted for ApJ. 17 pages, 10 figure

Testing Rotational Mixing Predictions with New Boron Abundances in Main Sequence B-type Stars

(Abridged) New boron abundances for seven main-sequence B-type stars are determined from HST STIS spectroscopy around the BIII 2066A line. Boron abundances provide a unique and critical test of stellar evolution models that include rotational mixing since boron is destroyed in the surface layers of stars through shallow mixing long before other elements are mixed from the stellar interior through deep mixing. Boron abundances range from 12+log(B/H) = 1.0 to 2.2. The boron abundances are compared to the published values of their stellar nitrogen abundances (all have 12+log(N/H) < 7.8, i.e., they do not show significant CNO-mixing) and to their host cluster ages (4 to 16 Myr) to investigate the predictions from models of massive star evolution with rotational mixing effects (Heger & Langer 2000). Only three stars (out of 34) deviate from the model predictions, including HD36591, HD205021, and HD30836. These three stars suggest that rotational mixing could be more efficient than currently modelled at the highest rotation rates.Comment: 10 figures, 7 tables; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Boron Abundances in Main Sequence B-type Stars: A Test of Rotational Depletion during Main Sequence Evolution

Boron abundances have been derived for seven main sequence B-type stars from HST STIS spectra around the B III 2066 A line. In two stars, boron appears to be undepleted with respect to the presumed initial abundance. In one star, boron is detectable but it is clearly depleted. In the other four stars, boron is undetectable implying depletions of 1 to 2 dex. Three of these four stars are nitrogen enriched, but the fourth shows no enrichment of nitrogen. Only rotationally induced mixing predicts that boron depletions are unaccompanied by nitrogen enrichments. The inferred rate of boron depletion from our observations is in good agreement with these predictions. Other boron-depleted nitrogen-normal stars are identified from the literature. Also, several boron-depleted nitrogen-rich stars are identified, and while all fall on the boron-nitrogen trend predicted by rotationally-induced mixing, a majority have nitrogen enrichments that are not uniquely explained by rotation. The spectra have also been used to determine iron-group (Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni) abundances. The seven B-type stars have near solar iron-group abundances, as expected for young stars in the solar neighborhood. We have also analysed the halo B-type star, PG0832+676. We find [Fe/H] = -0.88 +/- 0.10, and the absence of the B III line gives the upper limit [B/H]<2.5. These and other published abundances are used to infer the star's evolutionary status as a post-AGB star.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures. accepted to Ap

Evolutionary stage of the spectral variable BD+48 1220=IRAS 05040+4820

Based on high-resolution observations (R=60000 and 75000), we have studied the optical spectral variability of the star BD+48 1220 (IRAS05040+4820). We have measured the equivalent widths of numerous absorption lines of neutral atoms and ions at wavelengths from 4500 to 6760 AA, as well as the corresponding radial velocities. We use model atmospheres to determine Teff=7900K, log g=0.0, microturbulence velocity xi_t=6.0, and the abundances for 16 elements. The star's metallicity differs little from the solar value: [Fe/H]=-0.10 dex. The main peculiarity of the chemical composition of the star is a large He-excess, derived from the HeI 5876 A absorption, [He/H]=+1.04, and the equally large O-excess, [O/Fe]=+0.72 dex. The C-excess is small, [C/Fe]=+0.09 dex, and the ratio [C/O]$\le$ 1. We obtained a revised relation for the light-metal abundances: [Na/Fe]=+0.87 with [Mg/Fe]=-0.31. The barium abundance is low, [Ba/Fe]=-0.84. The radial velocity of the star measured from photospheric absorption lines over three years of observations varies in the interval V_sun = -(7 - 15) km/s. Time variable differential line shifts have been revealed. The entire set of available data (the luminosity Mv~-5m, velocity V_lsr~-20 km/s, metallicity [Fe/H]=-0.10, and peculiarities of the optical spectrum and chemical composition) confirms the status of BD+48 1220 as a post-AGB star with He- and O-excesses belonging to the Galactic disk.Comment: 42 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables, accepted by Astronomy Report

Chemical Abundances of the Leo II Dwarf Galaxy

We use previously-published moderate-resolution spectra in combination with stellar atmosphere models to derive the first measured chemical abundance ratios in the Leo II dSph galaxy. We find that for spectra with SNR > 24, we are able to measure abundances from weak Ti, Fe and Mg lines located near the calcium infrared triplet (CaT). We also quantify and discuss discrepancies between the metallicities measured from Fe I lines and those estimated from the CaT features. We find that while the most metal-poor ([Fe/H] <-2.0]) Leo II stars have Ca and Ti abundance ratios similar to those of Galactic globular clusters, the more metal-rich stars show a gradual decline of Ti, Mg and Ca abundance ratio with increasing metallicity. Finding these trends in this distant and apparently dynamically stable dSph galaxy supports the hypothesis that the slow chemical enrichment histories of the dSph galaxies is universal, independent of any interaction with the Milky Way. Combining our spectroscopic abundances with published broadband photometry and updated isochrones, we are able to approximate stellar ages for our bright RGB stars to a relative precision of 2-3 Gyr. While the derived age-metallicity relationship of Leo II hints at some amount of slow enrichment, the data are still statistically consistent with no enrichment over the history of Leo II.Comment: Accepted to A