The Evolution of 3He, 4He and D in the Galaxy

In this work we present the predictions of a modified version of the ``two-infall model'' (Chiappini et al. 1997) for the evolution of 3He, 4He and D in the solar vicinity, as well as their distributions along the Galactic disk. In particular, we show that when allowing for extra-mixing process in low mass stars, as predicted by Charbonnel and do Nascimento (1998), a long standing problem in chemical evolution is solved, namely: the overproduction of 3He by the chemical evolution models as compared to the observed values in the sun and in the interstellar medium. Moreover, we show that chemical evolution models can constrain the primordial value of the deuterium abundance and that a value of primordial D/H < 3 x 10(-5) is suggested by the present model. Finally, adopting the primordial 4He abundance suggested by Viegas et al. (1999), we obtain a value for dY/dZ around 2 and a better agreement with the solar He abundance.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in "The Light Elements and Their Evolution", IAU Symp. 198, L. da Silva, M. Spite, J.R. Medeiros eds, ASP Conf.Ser., in press; Figure 3 corrected, typos corrected and 1 reference added/subtracte

Explaining the Ba, Y, Sr, and Eu abundance scatter in metal-poor halo stars: constraints to the r-process

Context. Thanks to the heroic observational campaigns carried out in recent years we now have large samples of metal-poor stars for which measurements of detailed abundances exist. [...] These data hold important clues on the nature of the contribution of the first stellar generations to the enrichment of our Galaxy. Aims. We aim to explain the scatter in Sr, Ba, Y, and Eu abundance ratio diagrams unveiled by the metal-poor halo stars. Methods. We computed inhomogeneous chemical evolution models for the Galactic halo assuming different scenarios for the r-process site: the electron-capture supernovae (EC) and the magnetorotationally driven (MRD) supernovae scenario. We also considered models with and without the contribution of fast-rotating massive stars (spinstars) to an early enrichment by the s-process. A detailed comparison with the now large sample of stars with measured abundances of Sr, Ba, Y, Eu, and Fe is provided (both in terms of scatter plots and number distributions for several abundance ratios). Results. The scatter observed in these abundance ratios of the very metal-poor stars (with [Fe/H] < -2.5) can be explained by combining the s-process production in spinstars, and the r-process contribution coming from massive stars. For the r-process we have developed models for both the EC and the MRD scenario that match the observations. Conclusions. With the present observational and theoretical constraints we cannot distinguish between the EC and the MRD scenario in the Galactic halo. Independently of the r-process scenarios adopted, the production of elements by an s-process in spinstars is needed to reproduce the spread in abundances of the light neutron capture elements (Sr and Y) over heavy neutron capture elements (Ba and Eu). We provide a way to test our suggestions by means of the distribution of the Ba isotopic ratios in a [Ba/Fe] or [Sr/Ba] vs. [Fe/H] diagram.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Pregabalin: a range of misuse-related unanswered questions

© 2019 The Authors. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Milky Way's Thick and Thin disk: Is there distinct thick disk?

This article is based on our discussion session on Milky Way models at the 592 WE-Heraeus Seminar, Reconstructing the Milky Way's History: Spectroscopic Surveys, Asteroseismology and Chemodynamical models. The discussion focused on the following question: "Are there distinct thick and thin disks?". The answer to this question depends on the definition one adopts for thin and thick disks. The participants of this discussion converged to the idea that there are at least two different types of disks in the Milky Way. However, there are still important open questions on how to best define these two types of disks (chemically, kinematically, geometrically or by age?). The question of what is the origin of the distinct disks remains open. The future Galactic surveys which are highlighted in this conference should help us answering these questions. The almost one-hour debate involving researchers in the field representing different modelling approaches (Galactic models such as TRILEGAL, Besancon and Galaxia, chemical evolution models, extended distribution functions method, chemodynamics in the cosmological context, and self-consistent cosmological simulations) illustrated how important is to have all these parallel approaches. All approaches have their advantages and shortcomings (also discussed), and different approaches are useful to address specific points that might help us answering the more general question above.Comment: 7 pages, no figure. To appear in Astronomische Nachrichten, special issue "Reconstruction the Milky Way's History: Spectroscopic surveys, Asteroseismology and Chemo-dynamical models", Guest Editors C. Chiappini, J. Montalban, and M. Steffe

FDI and trade: A Granger causality analysis in a heterogeneous panel

This paper will investigate the Granger causality between outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the exports of goods and services in 11 European countries from 1996 to 2008. Using a new method to evaluate causality in a heterogeneous panel, we find that the causal relationship from FDI to exports is homogeneous among the panel. However, we find strong evidence of a heterogeneity of the causal relationship from exports to FDI in our sample.Foreign direct investment, exports, Granger causality, heterogeneous panel

Stellar Evolution in the Early Universe

Massive stars played a key role in the early evolution of the Universe. They formed with the first halos and started the re-ionisation. It is therefore very important to understand their evolution. In this paper, we describe the strong impact of rotation induced mixing and mass loss at very low $Z$. The strong mixing leads to a significant production of primary nitrogen 14, carbon 13 and neon 22. Mass loss during the red supergiant stage allows the production of Wolf-Rayet stars, type Ib,c supernovae and possibly gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) down to almost Z=0 for stars more massive than 60 solar masses. Galactic chemical evolution models calculated with models of rotating stars better reproduce the early evolution of N/O, C/O and C12/C13. We calculated the weak s-process production induced by the primary neon 22 and obtain overproduction factors (relative to the initial composition, Z=1.e-6) between 100-1000 in the mass range 60-90.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of IAU Symposium 255, "Low-Metallicity Star Formation: From the First stars to Dwarf Galaxies", L.K. Hunt, S. Madden & R. Schneider, ed

The Chemical Evolution of the Galaxy: the two-infall model

In this paper we present a new chemical evolution model for the Galaxy which assumes two main infall episodes for the formation of halo-thick disk and thin disk, respectively. We do not try to take into account explicitly the evolution of the halo but we implicitly assume that the timescale for the formation of the halo was of the same order as the timescale for the formation of the thick disk. The formation of the thin-disk is much longer than that of the thick disk, implying that the infalling gas forming the thin-disk comes not only from the thick disk but mainly from the intergalactic medium. The timescale for the formation of the thin-disk is assumed to be a function of the galactocentric distance, leading to an inside-out picture for the Galaxy building. The model takes into account the most up to date nucleosynthesis prescriptions and adopts a threshold in the star formation process which naturally produces a hiatus in the star formation rate at the end of the thick disk phase, as suggested by recent observations. The model results are compared with an extended set of observational constraints. Among these constraints, the tightest one is the metallicity distribution of the G-dwarf stars for which new data are now available. Our model fits very well these new data. We show that in order to reproduce most of these constraints a timescale $\le 1$ Gyr for the (halo)-thick-disk and of 8 Gyr for the thin-disk formation in the solar vicinity are required. We predict that the radial abundance gradients in the inner regions of the disk ($R< R_{\odot}$) are steeper than in the outer regions, a result confirmed by recent abundance determinations, and that the inner ones steepen in time during the Galactic lifetime.Comment: 48 pages, 20 Postscript figures, AASTex v.4.0, to be published in Astrophysical Journa

Chemodynamical history of the Galactic Bulge

The Galactic Bulge can uniquely be studied from large samples of individual stars, and is therefore of prime importance for understanding the stellar population structure of bulges in general. Here the observational evidence on the kinematics, chemical composition, and ages of Bulge stellar populations based on photometric and spectroscopic data is reviewed. The bulk of Bulge stars are old and span a metallicity range -1.5<~[Fe/H]<~+0.5. Stellar populations and chemical properties suggest a star formation timescale below ~2 Gyr. The overall Bulge is barred and follows cylindrical rotation, and the more metal-rich stars trace a Box/Peanut (B/P) structure. Dynamical models demonstrate the different spatial and orbital distributions of metal-rich and metal-poor stars. We discuss current Bulge formation scenarios based on dynamical, chemical, chemodynamical and cosmological models. Despite impressive progress we do not yet have a successful fully self-consistent chemodynamical Bulge model in the cosmological framework, and we will also need more extensive chrono-chemical-kinematic 3D map of stars to better constrain such models.Comment: 9 figures, 55 pages final version to appear in the Annual Reviews of Astronomy & Astrophysics, volume 5