The R-Process Alliance: A Nearly Complete R-Process Abundance Template Derived from Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of the R-Process-Enhanced Metal-Poor Star HD 222925

TL;DR

This paper provides the most comprehensive r-process element abundance pattern for a metal-poor star, derived from ultraviolet and optical spectroscopy, revealing detailed nucleosynthesis insights and a nearly complete elemental inventory beyond the solar system.

Contribution

It offers the first nearly complete r-process abundance template for a metal-poor star, including rare elements, based on extensive ultraviolet and optical spectral analysis.

Findings

R-process elements from Ba to Pb match Solar residuals closely.

Lighter elements show significant deviations and distinct trends.

The star's lanthanide fraction is typical for r-process-enhanced stars.

Abstract

We present a nearly complete rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) chemical inventory of the metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -1.46 +/- 0.10) r-process-enhanced ([Eu/Fe] = +1.32 +/- 0.08) halo star HD 222925. This abundance set is the most complete for any object beyond the solar system, totaling 63 metals detected and 7 with upper limits. It comprises 42 elements from 31 <= Z <= 90, including elements rarely detected in r-process-enhanced stars, such as Ga, Ge, As, Se, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Te, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au. We derive these abundances from an analysis of 404 absorption lines in ultraviolet spectra collected using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope and previously analyzed optical spectra. A series of appendices discusses the atomic data and quality of fits for these lines. The r-process elements from Ba to Pb, including all elements at the third r-process peak, exhibit remarkable agreement with the Solar r-process residuals, with a standard deviation of the differences of only 0.08 dex (17%). In contrast, deviations among the lighter elements from Ga to Te span nearly 1.4 dex, and they show distinct trends from Ga to Se, Nb through Cd, and In through Te. The r-process contribution to Ga, Ge, and As is small, and Se is the lightest element whose production is dominated by the r-process. The lanthanide fraction, log(X_La) = -1.39 +/- 0.09, is typical for r-process-enhanced stars and higher than that of the kilonova from the GW170817 neutron-star merger event. We advocate adopting this pattern as an alternative to the Solar r-process-element residuals when confronting future theoretical models of heavy-element nucleosynthesis with observations.