A Chemical Signature from Fast-rotating Low-metallicity Massive Stars: ROA 276 in ω Centauri

David Yong, John E. Norris, Gary S. Da Costa, Laura M. Stanford, Amanda I. Karakas, Luke J. Shingles, Raphael Hirschi, Marco Pignatari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
96 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We present a chemical abundance analysis of a metal-poor star, ROA 276, in the stellar system ω Centauri. We confirm that this star has an unusually high [Sr/Ba] abundance ratio. Additionally, ROA 276 exhibits remarkably high abundance ratios, [X/Fe], for all elements from Cu to Mo along with normal abundance ratios for the elements from Ba to Pb. The chemical abundance pattern of ROA 276, relative to a primordial ω Cen star ROA 46, is best fit by a fast-rotating low-metallicity massive stellar model of 20 ${M}_{\odot }$, [Fe/H] = −1.8, and an initial rotation 0.4 times the critical value; no other nucleosynthetic source can match the neutron-capture element distribution. ROA 276 arguably offers the most definitive proof to date that fast-rotating massive stars contributed to the production of heavy elements in the early universe.
Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Astrophysical Journal
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Mar 2017

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Chemical Signature from Fast-rotating Low-metallicity Massive Stars: ROA 276 in ω Centauri'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this