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Published April 26, 2001 | Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

Abundances in the Uranium-rich Star CS 31082-001

Abstract

The recent discovery by Cayrel et al. of U in CS 31082-001 along with Os and Ir at greatly enhanced abundances but with [Fe/H] = -2.9 strongly reinforces the argument that there are at least two kinds of Type II supernova (SN II) sources for r-nuclei. One source is the high-frequency H events responsible for heavy r-nuclei (A > 135) but not Fe. The H-yields calculated from data on other ultra-metal-poor stars and the Sun provide a template for quantitatively predicting the abundances of all other r-elements. In CS 31082-001 these should show a significant deficiency at A < 135 relative to the solar r-pattern. It is proposed that CS 31082-001 should have had a companion that exploded as an SN II H event. If the binary survived the explosion, this star should now have a compact companion, most likely a stellar-mass black hole. Comparison of abundance data with predicted values and a search for a compact companion should provide a stringent test of the proposed r-process model. The U-Th age determined by Cayrel et al. for CS 31082-001 is, to within substantial uncertainties, in accord with the r-process age determined from solar system data. The time gap between the big bang and the onset of normal star formation allows r-process chronometers to provide only a lower limit on the age of the universe.

Additional Information

© 2001 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2001 February 27; accepted 2001 March 19; published 2001 April 26 We would like to dedicate this Letter to Willy Fowler and Fred Hoyle, who might at some time have enjoyed and engaged in these efforts. Support, interest, and provocation by Roger Blandford are greatly appreciated. We thank Tim Beers for a thorough, insightful, and prompt review. We acknowledge Kris Davidson and Roberta Humphreys for information on the proper motion of the U-star. This work was supported in part by DOE grants DE-FG02-87ER40328 and DE-FG02-00ER41149 (Y.-Z. Q.) and by NASA grant NAG5-4083 (G. J. W.), Caltech Division Contribution 8764(1075).

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