2012/02/09 by Ian U. Roederer, James E. Lawler, J. E. Lawler +11 · 1 citation
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomical and nuclear sciences #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Chemistry #Galactic halo #Galaxy #Halo #Hubble space telescope #Nuclear physics research studies #Nucleosynthesis #Physics #Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Tellurium #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.SR #r-process
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/747/1/l8
Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (5 pages, 2 figures)
openalex publication_date 2012/02/09 · arxiv created 2012/02/10 · arxiv updated 2015/06/04 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Using near-ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope , we detect neutral tellurium in three metal-poor stars enriched by products of r -process nucleosynthesis, BD +17 3248, HD 108317, and HD 128279. Tellurium (Te, Z = 52) is found at the second r -process peak ( A ≈ 130) associated with the N = 82 neutron shell closure, and it has not been detected previously in Galactic halo stars. The derived tellurium abundances match the scaled solar system r -process distribution within the uncertainties, confirming the predicted second peak r -process residuals. These results suggest that tellurium is predominantly produced in the main component of the r -process, along with the rare earth elements.