The non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation of neutral boron in the atmospheres of cool stars are investigated. Our results confirm that NLTE effects for the B I resonance lines, which are due to a combination of overionization and optical pumping effects, are most important for hot, metalpoor, and low-gravity stars; however, the amplitude of departures from LTE found by this work are smaller than that of previous studies. In addition, our calculation shows that the line formation of B I will get closer to LTE if the strength of collisions with neutral hydrogen increases, which is contrary to the result of previous studies. The NLTE line formation results are applied to the determination of boron abundances for a sample of 16 metal-poor stars with the method of spectrum synthesis of the B I 2497 A resonance lines using the archived HST/GHRS spectra. Beryllium and oxygen abundances are also determined for these stars. The abundances of the nine stars which are not depleted in Be or B show that, no matter the strength of collisions with neutral hydrogen may be, both Be and B increase with O quasi-linearly in the logarithmic plane, which confirms the conclusions that Be and B are mainly produced by primary process in the early Galaxy. The most noteworthy result of this work is that B increases with Fe or O at a very similar speed as, or a bit faster than Be does, which is in accord with the theoretical models. The B/Be ratios remain almost constant over the metallicity range investigated here. Our average B/Be ratio falls in the interval [13+-4, 17+-4], which is consistent with the predictions of spallation process. The contribution of B from the nu-process may be required if the 11B/10B isotopic ratios in metal-poor stars are the same as the meteoric value.
Based on high-resolution spectral observations for a sample of very metal-poor stars, we investigate how well stellar chemical abundances can be derived with available theoretical methods and computational tools.
Heavy element abundances in extremely metal-poor stars provide strong constraints on the processes of forming these elements in the first stars. We attempt to determine precise abundances of strontium in a homogeneous sample of extremely metal-poor stars. The abundances of strontium in 54 very or extremely metal-poor stars, was redetermined by abandoning the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) hypothesis, and fitting non-LTE (NLTE) profiles to the observed spectral lines. The corrected Sr abundances and previously obtained NLTE Ba abundances are compared to the predictions of several hypothe…
We checked consistency between the copper abundance derived in six metal-poor stars using UV Cu II lines (which are assumed to form in LTE) and UV Cu I lines (treated in NLTE). Our program stars cover the atmosphere parameters which are typical for intermediate temperature dwarfs (effective temperature is in the range from approximately 5800 to 6100 K, surface garvity is from 3.6 to 4.5, metallicity is from about -1 to -2.6 dex). We obtained a good agreement between abundance from these two sets of the lines, and this testifies about reliability of our NLTE copper atomic model. We confirmed th…
The copper abundances of 29 metal-poor stars are determined based on the high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra from the UVES spectragraph at the ESO VLT telescope. Our sample consists of the stars of the Galactic halo, thick- and thin-disk with [Fe/H] ranging from ~ -3.2 to ~ 0.0 dex. The non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects of Cu I lines are investigated, and line formation calculations are presented for an atomic model of copper including 97 terms and 1089 line transitions. We adopted the recently calculated photo-ionization cross-sections of Cu I, and investigate…
We investigate statistical equilibrium of Cr in the atmospheres of late-type stars. The main goal is to ascertain the reason for a systematic abundance discrepancy between Cr I and Cr II lines, which is often encountered in spectroscopic analyses of metal-poor stars. Up to now, all these studies relied on the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) in the spectrum modelling. For the first time, we perform NLTE calculations in subdwarfs and subgiants of different metallicities. We show that the LTE assumption is inadequate to describe excitation-ionization equilibrium of Cr I/Cr II …
Aims. We investigate statistical equilibrium of Cr in the atmospheres of late-type stars to show whether the systematic abundance discrepancy between Cr I and Cr II lines, as often encountered in the literature, is due to deviations from LTE. Furthermore, we attempt to interpret the NLTE trend of [Cr/Fe] with [Fe/H] using chemical evolution models for the solar neighborhood. Methods. NLTE calculations are performed for the model of Cr atom, comprising 340 levels and 6806 transitions in total. We make use of the quantum-mechanical photoionization cross-sections of Nahar (2009) and investigate s…
We investigate departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) in the line formation of neutral and singly ionised iron lines and their impact on spectroscopic stellar parameters. The calculations are performed for an extensive grid of 1D MARCS models of metal-rich and metal-poor late-type dwarfs and giants. We find that iron abundances derived from FeI lines are increasingly underestimated in hotter, lower surface-gravity, and more metal-poor stars, in a simple and well-defined pattern, while LTE is usually a realistic approximation for FeII lines. For the vast majority of dwarfs and g…
We investigate the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) analysis for \ion{Cu}{1} lines with the updated model atom that includes quantum-mechanical rate coefficients of Cu\,$+$\,H and Cu$^+$\,$+$\,H$^-$ inelastic collisions from the recent study of Belyaev et al. (2021). The influence of these data on NLTE abundance determinations has been performed for six metal-poor stars in a metallicity range of $-$2.59\,dex$\,\le$\,[Fe/H]\,$\le$\,$-$0.95\,dex. For \ion{Cu}{1} lines, the application of accurate atomic data leads to a decrease in the departure from LTE and lower copper abundances comp…
Strontium has proven itself to be one of the most important neutron-capture elements in the study of metal-poor stars. Thanks to the strong absorption lines of Sr, they can be detected even in the most metal-poor stars and also in low-resolution spectra. However, we still cannot explain the large star-to-star abundance scatter we derive for metal-poor stars. Here we contrast Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) with improved abundances for SrI+II including updated atomic data, to evaluate possible explanations for the large star-to-star scatter at low metallicities. We derive abundances under bot…
We present new ultra-metal-poor (UMP) stars parameters with [Fe/H]<-4.0 based on line-by-line non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) abundances using an up-to-date iron model atom with a new recipe for non-elastic hydrogen collision rates. We study the departures from LTE in their atmospheric parameter and show that they can grow up to ~1.0 dex in [Fe/H], 150K in Teff and 0.5 dex in log g toward the lowest metallicities. Accurate NLTE atmospheric stellar parameters, in particular [Fe/H] being signifcantly higher, are the first step to eventually providing full NLTE abundance patterns that …
We study the effects of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) on the abundance analysis of barium, magnesium, and manganese from integrated light spectroscopy, as typically applied to the analysis of extra-galactic star clusters and galaxies. In this paper, our reference object is a synthetic simple stellar population (SSP) representing a mono-metallic alpha-enhanced globular cluster with the metallicity [Fe/H]=-2.0 and the age of 11 Gyr. We used the MULTI2.3 program to compute LTE and NLTE equivalent widths of spectral lines of Mg I, Mn I, and Ba II ions, which are commonly used in abund…
Un-evolved, very metal-poor stars are the most important tracers of the cosmic abundance of lithium in the early universe. Combining the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis model with Galactic production through cosmic ray spallation, these stars at [Fe/H]<-2 are expected to show an undetectably small 6Li/7Li isotopic signature. Evidence to the contrary may necessitate an additional pre-galactic production source or a revision of the standard model of Big Bang nucleosynthesis. We revisit the isotopic analysis of four halo stars, two with claimed 6Li-detections in the literature, to investigate t…
We construct a comprehensive model atom for TiI-II using more than 3600 measured and predicted energy levels of TiI and 1800 energy levels of TiII, and quantum mechanical photoionisation cross-sections. Non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for the two ions of titanium is treated through a wide range of spectral types from A to K, including metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] down to -2.6 dex. NLTE leads to systematically depleted total absorption in the TiI lines and to positive abundance corrections. The magnitude of NLTE abundance corrections is smaller compared to the availa…
We report the detection of an Al II line at 2669.155 Angstroms in 11 metal-poor stars, using ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We derive Al abundances from this line using a standard abundance analysis, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The mean [Al/Fe] ratio is -0.06 +/- 0.04 (sigma = 0.22) for these 11 stars spanning -3.9 < [Fe/H] < -1.3, or [Al/Fe] = -0.10 +/- 0.04 (sigma = 0.18) for 9 stars spanning -3.0 < [Fe/H] < -1.3 if two carbon-enhanced stars are excluded. We use these abundances to perform an…
An analysis of the CH molecule in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) is performed for the physical conditions of cool stellar atmospheres typical of red giants (log g = 2.0, Teff = 4500 K) and the Sun. The aim of the present work is to explore whether the G-band of the CH molecule, which is commonly used in abundance diagnostics of Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars, is sensitive to NLTE effects. LTE and NLTE theoretical spectra are computed with the MULTI code. We use one-dimensional (1D) LTE hydrostatic MARCS model atmospheres with parameters representing eleven red giant stars …
Aims. The statistical equilibrium of neutral and ionized silicon in the atmospheres of metal-poor stars is discussed. Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium effects are investigated and the silicon abundances in metal-poor stars determined. Methods. We have used high resolution, high signal to noise ratio spectra from the UVES spectragraph at the ESO VLT telescope. Line formation calculations of Si i and Si ii in the atmospheres of metal-poor stars are presented for atomic models of silicon including 174 terms and 1132 line transitions. Recent improved calculations of Si i and Si ii photoionizati…
Based on 3D hydrodynamical model atmospheres computed with the CO5BOLD code and 3D non-LTE (NLTE) line formation calculations, we study the effect of the convection-induced line asymmetry on the derived 6Li abundance for a range in effective temperature, gravity, and metallicity covering the stars of the Asplund et al. (2006) sample. When the asymmetry effect is taken into account for this sample of stars, the resulting 6Li/7Li ratios are reduced by about 1.5% on average with respect to the isotopic ratios determined by Asplund et al. (2006). This purely theoretical correction diminishes the n…
Observational constraints on the origin of the elements. VII. NLTE analysis of Y II lines in spectra of cool stars and implications for Y as a Galactic chemical clock
For the well studied halo star HD 122563 and the four stars in the globular cluster NGC 6397, we determine NLTE abundances of iron using classical plane-parallel model atmospheres. Each star reveals a discrepancy in abundances between the Fe I lines arising from the ground state and the other Fe I lines, in qualitative agreement with the 3D-LTE line formation predictions, however, the magnitude of the observed effect is a factor of 2 smaller compared with the predicted one. When ignoring the Fe I low-excitation lines, the NLTE abundances from the two ionization stages, Fe I and Fe II, are cons…
We investigate the statistical equilibrium of Co in the atmospheres of cool stars, and the influence of NLTE and HFS (hyperfine splitting) on the formation of Co lines and abundances. Significant departures from LTE level populations are found for Co I, also number densities of excited states in Co II differ from LTE at low metallicity. The NLTE abundance of Co in solar photosphere is 4.95 +/- 0.04 dex, which is in agreement with that in C I meteorites within the combined uncertainties. The spectral lines of Co I were calculated using the results of recent measurements of hyperfine interaction…
We perform the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) calculations for Ca I-II with the updated model atom that includes new quantum-mechanical rate coefficients for Ca I + H I collisions from two recent studies, that is, by Barklem and by Mitrushchenkov, Guitou, Belyaev, Yakovleva, Spielfiedel, and Feautrier, and investigate the accuracy of calcium abundance determinations using the Sun, Procyon, and five metal-poor (MP) stars with well-determined stellar parameters. We show that both collisional recipes lead to very similar NLTE results. When using the subordinate lines of Ca I and the h…
Models of star formation in the early universe depend on the details of accretion, fragmentation and radiative feedback. Different simulations predict different initial mass functions of the first stars, ranging from predominantly low mass (0.1-10 Msol), to massive (10-100 Msol), or even supermassive (100-1000 Msol). The mass distribution of the first stars should lead to unique chemical imprints on the low-mass second and later generation metal-poor stars still in existence. The chemical composition of SMSS0313-6708, which has the lowest abundances of Ca and Fe of any star known, indicates it…
(Abridged) Extremely metal-poor stars contain the fossil records of the chemical composition of the early Galaxy. The NLTE profiles of the calcium lines were computed in a sample of 53 extremely metal-poor stars with a modified version of the program MULTI. With our new model atom we are able to reconcile the abundance of Ca deduced from the Ca I and Ca II lines in Procyon. -We find that [Ca/Fe] = 0.50 $\pm$ 0.09 in the early Galaxy, a value slightly higher than the previous LTE estimations. -The scatter of the ratios [X/Ca] is generally smaller than the scatter of the ratio [X/Mg] where X is …
LTE abundances of light elements in extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars have been previously derived from high quality spectra. New derivations, free from the NLTE effects, will better constrain the models of the Galactic chemical evolution and the yields of the very first supernovae. The NLTE profiles of the magnesium and potassium lines have been computed in a sample of 53 extremely metal-poor stars with a modified version of the program MULTI and adjusted to the observed lines in order to derive the abundances of these elements. The NLTE corrections for magnesium and potassium are in good agre…
From exploratory studies and theoretical expectations it is known that simplifying approximations in spectroscopic analysis (LTE, 1D) lead to systematic biases of stellar parameters and abundances. These biases depend strongly on surface gravity, temperature, and, in particular, for LTE vs. non-LTE (NLTE) on metallicity of the stars. Here we analyse the [Mg/Fe] and [Fe/H] plane of a sample of 326 stars, comparing LTE and NLTE results obtained using 1D hydrostatic models and averaged <3D> models. We show that compared to the <3D>NLTE benchmark, all other three methods display increasing biases …
Accurate spectroscopic lithium abundances are essential in addressing a variety of open questions, such as the origin of a uniform lithium content in the atmospheres of metal-poor stars (Spite plateau) or the existence of a correlation between the properties of extra-solar planetary systems and the lithium abundance of their host stars. We have developed a tool that allows the user to improve the accuracy of standard lithium abundance determinations based on 1D model atmospheres and the assumption of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) by applying corrections that account for hydrodynamic (3…
It is well known that cool star atmospheres depart from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). Accurate abundance determination requires taking those effects into account, but the necessary non-LTE calculations are often lacking. Our goal is to provide detailed estimates of NLTE effects for FGK type stars for all spectral lines from the ultraviolet to the infrared that are potentially useful as abundance diagnostics. The first paper in this series focusses on the light elements Na, Mg and Al. The code PySME is used to compute curves-of-growth for 2158 MARCS model atmospheres in a wide paramete…
For the first time, a direct NLTE analysis of carbon and nitrogen lines in the spectra of nine RR Lyrae stars was carried out. We have determined the abundances of these elements together with oxygen, and have shown that the nitrogen content is increased in metallicity deficient program stars. We conclude that this is a sign of the first dredge up, which occurred at the previous stage of the red giant branch, and brought material processed in an incomplete CNO cycle to the surface of the star. This effect is significantly enhanced by thermohaline (extra-) mixing, which is more effective for me…
We have developed a model atom for Cu with which we perform statistical equilibrium computations that allow us to compute the line formation of Cu I lines in stellar atmospheres without assuming Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE). We validate this model atom by reproducing the observed line profiles of the Sun, Procyon and eleven metal-poor stars. Our sample of stars includes both dwarfs and giants. Over a wide range of stellar parameters we obtain excellent agreement among different Cu I lines. The eleven metal-poor stars have iron abundances in the range -4.2 <= [Fe/H] <= -1.4, the weight…
Manganese (Mn) is a key Fe-group elements, commonly employed in stellar population and nucleosynthesis studies to explore the role of SN Ia. We have developed a new non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model of Mn, including new photo-ionisation cross-sections and new transition rates caused by collisions with H and H- atoms. We applied the model in combination with 1-dimensional (1D) LTE model atmospheres and 3D hydrodynamical simulations of stellar convection to quantify the impact of NLTE and convection on the line formation. We show that the effects of NLTE are present in Mn I and, t…
Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for neutral and singly-ionized iron is considered through a range of stellar parameters characteristic of cool stars. A comprehensive model atom for Fe I and Fe II is presented. Our NLTE calculations support the earlier conclusions that the statistical equilibrium (SE) of Fe I shows an underpopulation of Fe I terms. However, the inclusion of the predicted high-excitation levels of Fe I in our model atom leads to a substantial decrease in the departures from LTE. As a test and first application of the Fe I/II model atom, iron abundances …
Chromospheric inferences rely on the interpretation of spectral lines that are formed under Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (NLTE) conditions. In the presence of oscillations, changes in the opacity impact the response height of the spectral lines and hinder the determination of the real properties of the fluctuations. We aim to explore the relationship between the chromospheric oscillations inferred by NLTE inversion codes and the waves' intrinsic fluctuations in velocity and temperature. Numerical simulations of wave propagation in an umbra have been computed with the code MANCHA. The NL…
We present a grid of atmospheric models and synthetic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for late-type dwarfs and giants of solar and 1/3 solar metallicity with many opacity sources computed in self-consistent Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (NLTE), and compare them to the LTE grid of Short & Hauschildt (2010) (Paper I). We describe, for the first time, how the NLTE treatment affects the thermal equilibrium of the atmospheric structure (T(tau) relation) and the SED as a finely sampled function of Teff, log g, and [A/H] among solar metallicity and mildly metal poor red giants. We compare …
Non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for Mg I and Mg II lines is considered in classical 1D-LTE model atmospheres of the Sun and 17 stars with reliable atmospheric parameters and in a broad range of spectral types: 3900 $\le$ \Teff\ $\le$ 17500~K, 1.1 $\le$ log$g$ $\le$ 4.7, and $-$2.6 $\le$ [Fe/H] $\le$ +0.4. We find that, for each star, NLTE leads to smaller line-to-line scatter. For 10 stars, NLTE leads to consistent abundances from Mg I and Mg II, while the difference in the LTE abundance varies between $-0.21$ and +0.23~dex. We obtain an abundance discrepancy betwee…
We explore the nature of carbon-rich ([C/Fe]_{1D,LTE} > +0.7), metal-poor ([Fe/H_{1D,LTE}] < -2.0) stars in the light of post 1D,LTE literature analyses, which provide 3D-1D and NLTE-LTE corrections for iron, and 3D-1D corrections for carbon (from the CH G-band, the only indicator at lowest [Fe/H]). High-excitation C~I lines are used to constrain 3D,NLTE corrections of G-band analyses. Corrections to the 1D,LTE compilations of Yoon et al. and Yong et al. yield 3D,LTE and 3D,NLTE Fe and C abundances. The number of CEMP-no stars in the Yoon et al. compilation (plus eight others) decreases from 1…
Elemental abundances of the most metal-poor stars reflect the conditions in the early Galaxy and the properties of the first stars. We present a spectroscopic follow-up of two ultra metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-4.0) identified by the survey {\em Pristine}: Pristine 221.8781+9.7844 and Pristine 237.8588+12.5660 (hereafter Pr 221 and Pr 237, respectively). Combining data with earlier observations, we find a radial velocity of -149.25 $\pm$ 0.27 and -3.18 $\pm$ 0.19 km/s for Pr 221 and Pr 237, respectively, with no evidence of variability between 2018 and 2020. From a one-dimensional (1D) local ther…
For a sample of metal-poor stars (-3.3< [Fe/H] <-2.2) that have high-resolution spectroscopic abundance determinations, we have measured equivalent widths (EW) of the Ca II K, Mg I b and near-infrared (NIR) Ca II triplet lines using low-resolution spectra of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), calculated effective temperatures from (g-z)0 color, deduced stellar surface gravities by fitting stellar isochrones, and determined metallicities based on the aforementioned quantities. Metallicities thus derived from the Ca II K line are in much better agreement with the results determined from high-r…
A Systematic NLTE Study of Very Metal-Poor Stars with Metallicity Down to $-4.3$ dex. II. Lithium Abundance and New Insight to the Lithium Plateau
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院国家天文台);Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University(北京师范大学天文与前沿科学研究院);School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学天文与空间科学学院);Department of Physics, Hebei Normal University(河北师范大学物理学院)
HD 140283 is a reference subgiant that is metal poor and confirmed to be a very old star. The abundances of this type of old star can constrain the nature and nucleosynthesis processes that occurred in its (even older) progenitors. The present study may shed light on nucleosynthesis processes yielding heavy elements early in the Galaxy. A detailed abundance analysis of a high-quality spectrum is carried out, with the intent of providing a reference on stellar lines and abundances of a very old, metal-poor subgiant. We aim to derive abundances from most available and measurable spectral lines. …
Magnesium abundances of cool stars with different metallicities are important for understanding the galactic chemical evolution. This study tests atomic data used in stellar magnesium abundance analyses. We evaluate non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for Mg I using the most up-to-date theoretical and experimental atomic data available so far and check the Mg abundances from individual lines in the Sun, four well studied A-type stars, and three reference metal-poor stars. With the adopted gf-values, NLTE abundances derived from the Mg I 4703 A, 5528 A, and Mg Ib lines a…
Earlier studies have suggested that deviations from the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) play a minor role in the formation of Be II 313 nm resonance lines in solar and stellar atmospheres. Recent improvements in the atomic data allow a more complete model atom of Be to be constructed and the validity of these claims to be reassessed using more up-to-date atomic physics. The main goal of this study therefore is to refocus on the role of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects in the formation of Be II 313.04 and 313.11 nm resonance lines in solar and stellar atmospheres. For th…
We present a homogeneous set of accurate atmospheric parameters for a complete sample of very and extremely metal-poor stars in the dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) Sculptor, Ursa Minor, Sextans, Fornax, Boötes I, Ursa Major II, and Leo IV. We also deliver a Milky Way (MW) comparison sample of giant stars covering the -4 < [Fe/H] < -1.7 metallicity range. We show that, in the [Fe/H] > -3.5 regime, the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) calculations with non-spectroscopic effective temperature (Teff) and surface gravity (log~g) based on the photometric methods and known distance provid…
The chemical composition of extremely metal-poor stars (EMP stars; [Fe/H]<~ -3) is a unique tracer of early nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. As such stars are rare, we wish to find classes of luminous stars which can be studied at high resolution. We aim to determine the detailed chemical composition of the two EMP stars CS30317-056 and CS22881-039, originally thought to be red horizontal-branch (RHB) stars, and compare it to earlier results for EMP stars as well as to nucleosynthesis yields from various supernova (SN) models. In the analysis, we discovered that our targets are in fact the two m…
In this paper we investigate statistical equilibrium of Ti in the atmospheres of late-type stars. The Ti I/Ti II level populations are computed with available experimental atomic data, except for photoionization and collision induced transition rates, for which we have to rely on theoretical approximations. For the Sun, the NLTE line formation with adjusted H I inelastic collision rates and MAFAGS-OS model atmosphere solve the long-standing discrepancy between Ti I and Ti II lines. The NLTE abundances determined from both ionization stages agree within $0.01$ dex with each other and with the T…
One of the most important factors in determining the stellar lithium abundance is the effective temperature. In a previous study by the authors, new effective temperatures Teff for sixteen metal-poor halo dwarfs were derived using a local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) description of the formation of Fe lines. This new Teff scale reinforced the discrepancy. For six of the stars from our previous study we calculate revised temperatures using a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) approach. These are then used to derive a new mean primordial lithium abundance in an attempt to solve the li…
Based on the medium-high resolution (R~ 20,000), modest signal-to-noise ratio (S/N > 70) FLAMES-GIRAFFE spectra, we investigated the copper abundances of 129 red giant branch stars in the Galactic bulge with [Fe/H] from -1.14 to 0.46 dex. The copper abundances are derived from both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) with the spectral synthesis method. We find that the NLTE effects for Cu I lines show a clear dependence on metallicity, and they gradually increase with decreasing [Fe/H] for our sample stars. Our results indicate that the NLTE effe…
Aims We study the effects of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) on the determination of stellar parameters and abundances of Fe, Mg, and Ti from the medium-resolution spectra of FGK stars.} Methods We extend the Payne fitting approach to draw on NLTE and LTE spectral models. These are used to analyse the spectra of the Gaia-ESO benchmark stars and the spectra of 742 stars in 13 open and globular clusters in the Milky Way: NGC 3532, NGC 5927, NGC 2243, NGC 104, NGC 1851, NGC 2808, NGC 362, M 2, MGC 6752, NGC 1904, NGC 4833, NGC 4372 and M 15. Results Our approach accurately recovers eff…
Aluminium plays a key role in studies of the chemical enrichment of the Galaxy and of globular clusters. However, strong deviations from LTE (non-LTE) are known to significantly affect the inferred abundances in giant and metal-poor stars. We present NLTE modeling of aluminium using recent and accurate atomic data, in particular utilizing new transition rates for collisions with hydrogen atoms, without the need for any astrophysically calibrated parameters. For the first time, we perform 3D NLTE modeling of aluminium lines in the solar spectrum. We also compute and make available extensive gri…
We present a new iron abundance analysis of the hyper metal-poor star HE$~$1327-2326, based on Fe II lines detected in its UV spectral range for the first time. In a Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) spectrum, five new Fe II lines could be measured. A Si I line was also detected for the first time. We determine a 1D Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) Fe II abundance of [Fe II/H] = -5.99$\pm$0.25. We also investigate departures from LTE for both Fe I and Fe II lines. Guided by 3D Non-LTE (NLTE) analyses of other well-studied metal-poor stars, we identify potential "residual" 3D effects in HE…
Hydrodynamical (or 3D) and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects are known to affect abundance analyses. However, there are very few observational abundance testsof 3D and NLTE models. We developed a new way of testing the abundance predictions of 3D and NLTE models, taking advantage of large spectroscopic survey data. We use a line-by-line analysis of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectra (H band) with the Brussels Automatic Code for Characterizing High accUracy Spectra (BACCHUS). We compute line-by-line abundances of Mg, Si, Ca, and Fe for a…
When compared to lithium and beryllium, the absence of boron lines in the optical results in a relatively small data set of boron abundances measured in Galactic stars to date. In this paper we discuss boron abundances published in the literature and focus on the evolution of boron in the Galaxy as measured from pristine boron abundances in cool stars as well as early-type stars in the Galactic disk. The trend of B with Fe obtained from cool F-G dwarfs in the disk is found to have a slope of 0.87 +/- 0.08 (in a log-log plot). This slope is similar to the slope of B with Fe found for the metal …
We investigate departures from LTE in the line formation of Fe for a number of well-studied late-type stars in different evolutionary stages. A new model of Fe atom was constructed from the most up-to-date theoretical and experimental atomic data available so far. Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation calculations for Fe were performed using 1D hydrostatic MARCS and MAFAGS-OS model atmospheres, as well as the spatial and temporal average stratifications from full 3D hydrodynamical simulations of stellar convection computed using the Stagger code. It is shown that the Fe I/F…
The oldest stars born before the onset of the main s-process are expected to reveal a pure r-process Ba/Eu abundance ratio. We revised barium and europium abundances of selected very metal-poor (VMP) and strongly r-process enhanced (r-II) stars to evaluate an empirical r-process Ba/Eu ratio. Our calculations were based on non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for Ba II and Eu II in the classical 1D MARCS model atmospheres. Homogeneous stellar abundances were determined from the Ba II subordinate and resonance lines by applying a common Ba isotope mixture. We used high-quali…
Solar carbon abundance from 3D non-LTE modelling of the diagnostic lines of the CH molecule
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie(马克斯·普朗克天文学研究所);Ruprecht-Karls Universität(鲁普雷希特-卡尔大学);Institut für Astrophysik und Geophysik(天体物理学与地球物理学研究所);Lowell Observatory(洛厄尔天文台);Northern Arizona University(北亚利桑那大学);University of Copenhagen(哥本哈根大学);Niels Bohr Institute(尼尔斯·玻尔研究所);Stockholm University(斯德哥尔摩大学);Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier(蒙彼利埃宇宙与粒子实验室);Univ Montpellier(蒙彼利埃大学);CNRS(法国国家科学研究中心);Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC)(空间科学研究所(ICE-CSIC))