Detection of Pb II in the Ultraviolet Spectra of Three Metal-Poor Stars

TL;DR

This study reports the first detection of Pb II in three metal-poor stars using Hubble ultraviolet spectra, revealing higher lead abundances than previously measured with Pb I lines and exploring implications for nucleosynthesis and stellar ages.

Contribution

It provides the first detection of Pb II lines in metal-poor stars, demonstrating their importance for accurate lead abundance measurements and nucleosynthesis insights.

Findings

Pb II lines yield higher Pb abundances than Pb I lines.

Pb is significantly enhanced in s-process-enriched stars.

The Th/Pb ratio suggests an age of approximately 8 Gyr for the star HD 222925.

Abstract

We report the first detection of the Pb II line at 2203.534 Angstroms in three metal-poor stars, using ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We perform a standard abundance analysis assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) to derive lead (Pb, Z=82) abundances. The Pb II line yields a higher abundance than Pb I lines by +0.36 +/- 0.34 dex and +0.49 +/- 0.28 dex in the stars HD 94028 and HD 196944, where Pb I lines had been detected previously. The Pb II line is likely formed in LTE, and these offsets affirm previous calculations showing that Pb I lines commonly used as abundance indicators underestimate the Pb abundance in LTE. Pb is enhanced in the s-process-enriched stars HD 94028 ([Pb/Fe] = +0.95 +/- 0.14) and HD 196944 ([Pb/Fe] = +2.28 +/- 0.23), and we show that Pb-208 is the dominant Pb isotope in these two stars. The log epsilon(Pb/Eu) ratio in the r-process-enhanced star HD 222925 is 0.76 +/- 0.14, which matches the Solar System r-process ratio and indicates that the Solar System r-process residuals for Pb are, in aggregate, correct. The Th/Pb chronometer in HD 222925 yields an age of 8.2 +/- 5.8 Gyr, and we highlight the potential of the Th/Pb chronometer as a relatively model-insensitive age indicator in r-process-enhanced stars.