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Paper: Molybdenum Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars
Volume: 458, Galactic Archaeology: Near-Field Cosmology and the Formation of the Milky Way
Page: 75
Authors: Peterson, R. C.
Abstract: Peterson (2011) has analyzed HST spectra near 2000Å of five metal-poor turnoff stars with mild enhancements of heavy r-process elements. Two stars, HD 94028 and HD 160617, are unique in showing an extreme overabundance of the light trans-ironic element molybdenum (Z = 42), but less extreme enhancements of Zr (Z = 40) and Ru (Z = 44). Of several nucleosynthesis scenarios that can produce nuclei in this mass range in the oldest stars, a high-entropy wind (HEW) acting in a core-collapse supernova seems uniquely capable of a high overproduction confined to a narrow mass range. That this unusual elemental distribution is achieved only under very limited physical conditions suggests that very few individual nucleosynthesis events were responsible for the synthesis of the light trans-ironic elements in these stars, even though both are only moderately metal-poor.
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