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We present a summary of the splinter session "Sun-like stars unlike the Sun" that was held on 09 June 2016 as part of the Cool Stars 19 conference (Uppsala, Sweden). We discussed the main limitations (in the theory and observations) in the derivation of very precise stellar parameters and chemical abundances of Sun-like stars. We outlined and discussed the most important and most debated processes that can produce chemical peculiarities in solar-type stars. Finally, in an open discussion between all the participants we tried to identify new pathways and prospects towards future solutions of the currently open questions., Comment: Resubmitted to AN after minor revision

Chemical abundance studies of the Sun and solar twins have demonstrated that the solar composition of refractory elements is depleted when compared to volatile elements, which could be due to the formation of terrestrial planets. In order to further examine this scenario, we conducted a line-by-line differential chemical abundance analysis of the terrestrial planet host Kepler-10 and fourteen of its stellar twins. Stellar parameters and elemental abundances of Kepler-10 and its stellar twins were obtained with very high precision using a strictly differential analysis of high quality CFHT, HET and Magellan spectra. When compared to the majority of thick disc twins, Kepler-10 shows a depletion in the refractory elements relative to the volatile elements, which could be due to the formation of terrestrial planets in the Kepler-10 system. The average abundance pattern corresponds to ~ 13 Earth masses, while the two known planets in Kepler-10 system have a combined ~ 20 Earth masses. For two of the eight thick disc twins, however, no depletion patterns are found. Although our results demonstrate that several factors (e.g., planet signature, stellar age, stellar birth location and Galactic chemical evolution) could lead to or affect abundance trends with condensation temperature, we find that the trends give further support for the planetary signature hypothesis., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Large Galactic stellar surveys and new generations of stellar atmosphere models and spectral line formation computations need to be subjected to careful calibration and validation and to benchmark tests. We focus on cool stars and aim at establishing a sample of 34 Gaia FGK Benchmark Stars with a range of different metallicities. The goal was to determine the effective temperature and the surface gravity independently from spectroscopy and atmospheric models as far as possible. Fundamental determinations of Teff and logg were obtained in a systematic way from a compilation of angular diameter measurements and bolometric fluxes, and from a homogeneous mass determination based on stellar evolution models. The derived parameters were compared to recent spectroscopic and photometric determinations and to gravity estimates based on seismic data. Most of the adopted diameter measurements have formal uncertainties around 1%, which translate into uncertainties in effective temperature of 0.5%. The measurements of bolometric flux seem to be accurate to 5% or better, which contributes about 1% or less to the uncertainties in effective temperature. The comparisons of parameter determinations with the literature show in general good agreements with a few exceptions, most notably for the coolest stars and for metal-poor stars. The sample consists of 29 FGK-type stars and 5 M giants. Among the FGK stars, 21 have reliable parameters suitable for testing, validation, or calibration purposes. For four stars, future adjustments of the fundamental Teff are required, and for five stars the logg determination needs to be improved. Future extensions of the sample of Gaia FGK Benchmark Stars are required to fill gaps in parameter space, and we include a list of suggested candidates., Comment: Accepted by A&A; 34 pages (printer format), 14 tables, 13 figures; language corrected

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey--III (SDSS--III) Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has obtained high resolution (R $\sim$ 22,500), high signal-to-noise ratio ($>$ 100) spectra in the H$-$band ($\sim$1.5$-$1.7 $\mu$m) for about 146,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy. We have computed spectral libraries with effective temperature ($T\rm{_{eff}}$) ranging from 3500 to 8000 K for the automated chemical analy\-sis of the survey data. The libraries, used to derive stellar parameters and abundances from the APOGEE spectra in the SDSS--III data release 12 (DR12), are based on ATLAS9 model atmospheres and the ASS$\epsilon$T spectral synthesis code. We present a second set of libraries based on MARCS model atmospheres and the spectral synthesis code Turbospectrum. The ATLAS9/ASS$\epsilon$T ($T\rm{_{eff}}$ = 3500$-$8000 K) and MARCS/Turbospectrum ($T\rm{_{eff}}$ = 3500$-$5500 K) grids cover a wide range of metallicity ($-$2.5 $\leq$ [M/H] $\leq$ $+$0.5 dex), surface gravity (0 $\leq$ log $g$ $\leq$ 5 dex), microturbulence (0.5 $\leq$ $\xi$ $\leq$ 8 km~s$^{-1}$), carbon ($-$1 $\leq$ [C/M] $\leq$ $+$1 dex), nitrogen ($-$1 $\leq$ [N/M] $\leq$ $+$1 dex), and $\alpha$-element ($-$1 $\leq$ [$\alpha$/M] $\leq$ $+$1 dex) variations, having thus seven dimensions. We compare the ATLAS9/ASS$\epsilon$T and MARCS/Turbospectrum libraries and apply both of them to the analysis of the observed H$-$band spectra of the Sun and the K2 giant Arcturus, as well as to a selected sample of well-known giant stars observed at very high-resolution. The new APOGEE libraries are publicly available and can be employed for chemical studies in the H$-$band using other high-resolution spectrographs., Comment: 45 pages, 11 figures; accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

Building on the experience of the high-resolution community with the suite of VLT high-resolution spectrographs, which has been tremendously successful, we outline here the (science) case for a high-fidelity, high-resolution spectrograph with wide wavelength coverage at the E-ELT. Flagship science drivers include: the study of exo-planetary atmospheres with the prospect of the detection of signatures of life on rocky planets; the chemical composition of planetary debris on the surface of white dwarfs; the spectroscopic study of protoplanetary and proto-stellar disks; the extension of Galactic archaeology to the Local Group and beyond; spectroscopic studies of the evolution of galaxies with samples that, unlike now, are no longer restricted to strongly star forming and/or very massive galaxies; the unraveling of the complex roles of stellar and AGN feedback; the study of the chemical signatures imprinted by population III stars on the IGM during the epoch of reionization; the exciting possibility of paradigm-changing contributions to fundamental physics. The requirements of these science cases can be met by a stable instrument with a spectral resolution of R~100,000 and broad, simultaneous spectral coverage extending from 370nm to 2500nm. Most science cases do not require spatially resolved information, and can be pursued in seeing-limited mode, although some of them would benefit by the E-ELT diffraction limited resolution. Some multiplexing would also be beneficial for some of the science cases. (Abridged), Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, White Paper for E-ELT HIRES (a few typos corrected)

We present a new grid of model photospheres for the SDSS-III/APOGEE survey of stellar populations of the Galaxy, calculated using the ATLAS9 and MARCS codes. New opacity distribution functions were generated to calculate ATLAS9 model photospheres. MARCS models were calculated based on opacity sampling techniques. The metallicity ([M/H]) spans from -5 to 1.5 for ATLAS and -2.5 to 0.5 for MARCS models. There are three main differences with respect to previous ATLAS9 model grids: a new corrected H2O linelist, a wide range of carbon ([C/M]) and alpha element [alpha/M] variations, and solar reference abundances from Asplund et al. 2005. The added range of varying carbon and alpha element abundances also extends the previously calculated MARCS model grids. Altogether 1980 chemical compositions were used for the ATLAS9 grid, and 175 for the MARCS grid. Over 808 thousand ATLAS9 models were computed spanning temperatures from 3500K to 30000K and log g from 0 to 5, where larger temperatures only have high gravities. The MARCS models span from 3500K to 5500K, and log g from 0 to 5. All model atmospheres are publically available online., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal

A sample of mostly old metal-rich dwarf and turn-off stars with high eccentricity and low maximum height above the Galactic plane has been identified. From their kinematics, it was suggested that the inner disk is their most probable birthplace. Their chemical imprints may therefore reveal important information about the formation and evolution of the still poorly understood inner disk. To probe the formation history of these stellar populations, a detailed analysis of a sample of very metal-rich stars is carried out. We derive the metallicities, abundances of \alpha\ elements, ages, and Galactic orbits. The analysis of 71 metal-rich stars is based on optical high-resolution \'echelle spectra obtained with the FEROS spectrograph at the ESO 1.52-m Telescope at La Silla, Chile. The metallicities and abundances of C, O, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti were derived based on LTE detailed analysis, employing the MARCS model atmospheres. We confirm the high metallicity of these stars reaching up to [Fe I/H]~0.58, and the sample of metal-rich dwarfs can be kinematically subclassified in samples of thick disk, thin disk, and intermediate stellar populations. All sample stars show solar \alpha-Fe ratios, and most of them are old and still quite metal rich. The orbits suggest that the thin disk, thick disk and intermediate populations were formed at Galactocentric distances of ~8 kpc, ~6 kpc, and ~7 kpc, respectively. The mean maximum height of the thick disk subsample of Z_max~380 pc, is lower than for typical thick disk stars. A comparison of \alpha-element abundances of the sample stars with bulge stars shows that the oxygen is compatible with a bulge or inner thick disk origin. Our results suggest that models of radial mixing and dynamical effects of the bar and bar/spiral arms might explain the presence of these old metal-rich dwarf stars in the solar neighbourhood., Comment: 28 pages, 27 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

It is still debated whether or not the Galactic chemical evolution of sulphur in the halo followed the constant or flat trend with [Fe/H], ascribed to the result of explosive nucleosynthesis in type II SNe. The aim of this study is to try to clarify this situation by measuring the sulphur abundance in a sample of halo giants using two diagnostics; the S I triplet around 1045 nm and the [S I] line at 1082 nm. The latter of the two is not believed to be sensitive to non-LTE effects. We can thereby minimize the uncertainties in the diagnostic used and estimate the usefulness of the triplet in sulphur determination in halo K giants. We will also be able to compare our sulphur abundance differences from the two diagnostics with the expected non-LTE effects in the 1045 nm triplet previously calculated by others. High-resolution near-infrared spectra of ten K giants were recorded using the spectrometer CRIRES mounted on VLT. Two standard settings were used; one covering the S I triplet and one covering the [S I] line. The sulphur abundances were determined individually with equivalent widths and synthetic spectra for the two diagnostics using tailored 1D model atmospheres and relying on non-LTE corrections from the litterature. Effects of convective inhomogeneities in the stellar atmospheres are investigated. We corroborate the flat trend in the [S/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] plot for halo stars found in other works and cannot find a scatter nor a rise in [S/Fe] obtained in some other previous studies. We find the sulphur abundances deduced from the non-LTE corrected triplet somewhat lower than the abundances from the [S I] line, possibly indicating too large non-LTE corrections. Considering 3D modeling, however, they might instead be too small. Further we show that the [S I] line is possible to use as a sulphur diagnostic down to [Fe/H] = -2.3 in giants., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Aims: The detached shells carry information on their formation process, as well as on the small-scale structure of the circumstellar medium around AGB stars due to the absence of significant line-of-sight confusion. Methods: The youngest detached shells, those around the carbon stars R Scl and U Cam, are studied here in great detail in scattered stellar light with the Advanced Survey Camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. Quantitative results are derived assuming optically thin dust scattering. Results: The detached dust shells around R Scl and U Cam are found to be consistent with an overall spherical symmetry. They have radii of 19.2" (corresponding to a linear size of 8x10^16 cm) and 7.7" (5x10^16 cm), widths of 1.2" (5x10^15 cm) and 0.6" (4x10^15 cm), and dust masses of 3x10^-6 and 3x10^-7 M(Sun), respectively. The dynamical ages of the R Scl and U Cam shells are estimated to be 1700 and 700 yr, respectively, and the shell widths correspond to time scales of 100 and 50 yr, respectively. Small-scale structure in the form of less than arcsec-sized clumps is clearly seen in the images of the R Scl shell. Average clump dust masses are estimated to be about 2x10^-9 M(Sun). Comparisons with CO line interferometer data show that the dust and gas shells coincide spatially, within the errors (<=1" for U Cam and approx. 2" for R Scl). Conclusions: The results are consistent with the interpretation of geometrically thin gas and dust shells formed by a mass-loss eruption during a He-shell flash, and where interaction with a previous wind plays a role as well. Clumpy structure is present in the R Scl shell, possibly as a consequence of the mass loss itself, but more likely as a consequence of instabilities in the expanding shell., Comment: 12 pages, accepted by A&A

Context: Geometrically thin, detached shells of gas have been found around a handful of carbon stars. --Aims: Previous observations of scattered stellar light in the circumstellar medium around the carbon star U Ant were taken through filters centred on the resonance lines of K and Na. These observations could not separate the scattering by dust and atoms. The aim of this paper is to remedy this situation. --Methods: We have obtained polarization data on stellar light scattered in the circumstellar medium around U Ant through filters which contain no strong lines, making it possible to differentiate between the two scattering agents. Kinematic, as well as spatial, information on the gas shells were obtained through high-resolution echelle spectrograph observations of the KI and NaD lines. --Results: We confirm the existence of two detached shells around U Ant. The inner shell (at a radius of approx 43" and a width of approx 2") consists mainly of gas, while the outer shell (at a radius of approx 50" and a width of approx 7") appears to consist exclusively of dust. Both shells appear to have an over-all spherical geometry. The gas shell mass is estimated to be 2x10^-3 M(Sun), while the mass of the dust shell is estimated to be 5x10^-5 M(Sun). The derived expansion velocity, from the KI and NaD lines, of the gas shell, 19.5 km/s, agrees with that obtained from CO radio line data. The inferred shell age is 2700 years. There is structure, e.g. in the form of arcs, inside the gas shell, but it is not clear whether these are due to additional shells. --Conclusions: Our results support the hypothesis that the observed geometrically thin, detached shells around carbon stars are the results of brief periods of intense mass loss, probably associated with thermal pulses, and subsequent wind-wind interactions.

We review three Li problems. First, the Li problem in the Sun, for which some previous studies have argued that it may be Li-poor compared to other Suns. Second, we discuss the Li problem in planet hosting stars, which are claimed to be Li-poor when compared to field stars. Third, we discuss the cosmological Li problem, i.e. the discrepancy between the Li abundance in metal-poor stars (Spite plateau stars) and the predictions from standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. In all three cases we find that the "problems" are naturally explained by non-standard mixing in stars., Comment: Astrophysics and Space Science, in press. New version has one reference corrected

For more than 140 years the chemical composition of our Sun has been considered typical of solar-type stars. Our highly differential elemental abundance analysis of unprecedented accuracy (~0.01 dex) of the Sun relative to solar twins, shows that the Sun has a peculiar chemical composition with a ~20% depletion of refractory elements relative to the volatile elements in comparison with solar twins. The abundance differences correlate strongly with the condensation temperatures of the elements. A similar study of solar analogs from planet surveys shows that this peculiarity also holds in comparisons with solar analogs known to have close-in giant planets while the majority of solar analogs without detected giant planets show the solar abundance pattern. The peculiarities in the solar chemical composition can be explained as signatures of the formation of terrestrial planets like our own Earth., Comment: Chemical Abundances in the Universe: Connecting First Stars to Planets. Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 265, 2009. K. Cunha, M. Spite & B. Barbuy, eds

It is debated whether the Milky Way bulge has the characteristics of a classical bulge sooner than those of a pseudobulge. Detailed abundance studies of bulge stars is a key to investigate the origin, history, and classification of the bulge. The aim is to add to the discussion on the origin of the bulge and to study detailed abundances determined from near-IR spectra for bulge giants already investigated with optical spectra, the latter also providing the stellar parameters which are very significant for the results of the present study. Especially, the important CNO elements are better determined in the near-IR. High-resolution, near-infrared spectra in the H band are recorded using the CRIRES spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope. The CNO abundances can all be determined from the numerous molecular lines in the wavelength range observed. Abundances of the alpha elements are also determined from the near-IR spectra. [O/Fe], [Si/Fe] and [S/Fe] are enhanced up to metallicities of at least [Fe/H]=-0.3, after which they decline. This suggests that the Milky Way bulge experienced a rapid and early star-formation history like that of a classical bulge. However, a similarity between the bulge trend and the trend of the local thick disk seems present. Such a similarity could suggest that the bulge has a pseudobulge origin. Our [C/Fe] trend does not show any increase with [Fe/H] which could have been expected if W-R stars have contributed substantially to the C abundances. No "cosmic scatter" can be traced around our observed abundance trends; the scatter found is expected, given the observational uncertainties., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

We aim to test the power of theoretical calibrations based on a new generation of MARCS models by comparisons with observational photomteric data. We calculate synthetic uvby-Hbeta colour indices from synthetic spectra. A sample of 388 field stars as well as stars in globular clusters is used for a direct comparison of the synthetic indices versus empirical data and for scrutinizing the possibilities of theoretical calibrations for temperature, metallicity and gravity. We show that the temperature sensitivity of the synthetic (b-y) colour is very close to its empirical counterpart, whereas the temperature scale based upon Hbeta shows a slight offset. The theoretical metallicity sensitivity of the m1 index (and for G-type stars its combination with c1) is somewhat larger than the empirical one, based upon spectroscopic determinations. The gravity sensitivity of the synthetic c1 index shows a satisfactory behaviour when compared to obervations of F stars. For stars cooler than the sun a deviation is significant in the c1-(b-y) diagram. The theoretical calibrations of (b-y), (v-y) and c1 seem to work well for Pop II stars and lead to effective temperatures for globular cluster stars supporting recent claims by Korn et al. (2007) that atomic diffusion occurs in stars near the turnoff point of NGC 6397. Synthetic colours of stellar atmospheres can indeed be used, in many cases, to derive reliable fundamental stellar parameters. The deviations seen when compared to observational data could be due to incomplete linelists but are possibly also due to effects of assuming plane-parallell or spherical geometry and LTE.

We introduce a notion of resultant of two meromorphic functions on a compact Riemann surface and demonstrate its usefulness in several respects. For example, we exhibit several integral formulas for the resultant, relate it to potential theory and give explicit formulas for the algebraic dependence between two meromorphic functions on a compact Riemann surface. As a particular application, the exponential transform of a quadrature domain in the complex plane is expressed in terms of the resultant of two meromorphic functions on the Schottky double of the domain., Comment: 44 pages

We present a homogeneous photometric and spectroscopic analysis of 18 stars along the evolutionary sequence of the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397 ([Fe/H] = -2), from the main-sequence turnoff point to red giants below the bump. The spectroscopic stellar parameters, in particular stellar-parameter differences between groups of stars, are in good agreement with broad-band and Stroemgren photometry calibrated on the infrared-flux method. The spectroscopic abundance analysis reveals, for the first time, systematic trends of iron abundance with evolutionary stage. Iron is found to be 31% less abundant in the turnoff-point stars than in the red giants. An abundance difference in lithium is seen between the turnoff-point and warm subgiant stars. The impact of potential systematic errors on these abundance trends (stellar parameters, the hydrostatic and LTE approximations) is quantitatively evaluated and found not to alter our conclusions significantly. Trends for various elements (Li, Mg, Ca, Ti and Fe) are compared with stellar-structure models including the effects of atomic diffusion and radiative acceleration. Such models are found to describe the observed element-specific trends well, if extra (turbulent) mixing just below the convection zone is introduced. It is concluded that atomic diffusion and turbulent mixing are largely responsible for the sub-primordial stellar lithium abundances of warm halo stars. Other consequences of atomic diffusion in old metal-poor stars are also discussed., Comment: 20 pages (emulateapj), 11 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present our on-going work on the determination of elemental abundances of giants in the Galactic Bulge by means of infrared spectroscopy. We show a preliminarily reduced spectrum and a synthetic spectrum fit of the Bulge giant Arp 4203 recorded with the near-infrared, high-resolution Crires spectrograph mounted on the VLT during its science verification run in August 2006. Abundances derived from this spectrum are discussed., Comment: 2 pages, IAUS 241 conference proceedings

Using high-resolution spectra of nearby F and G dwarf stars, we have investigated the detailed abundance and age structure of the Hercules stream. We find that the stars in the stream have a wide range of stellar ages, metallicities, and element abundances. By comparing to existing samples of stars in the solar neighbourhood with kinematics typical of the Galactic thin and thick disks we find that the properties of the Hercules stream distinctly separate into the abundance and age trends of the two disks. Hence, we find it unlikely that the Hercules stream is a unique Galactic stellar population, but rather a mixture of thin and thick disk stars. This points toward a dynamical origin for the Hercules stream, probably caused by the Galactic bar., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

The ABC effect - a puzzling low-mass enhancement in the $\pi\pi$ invariant mass spectrum - is known from inclusive measurements of two-pion production in nuclear collisions, where it always showed up, if the participating nucleons fused to a bound nuclear system in the final state. The first exclusive measurements on the ABC effect have been carried out very recently at CELSIUS-WASA for the fusion reactions leading to d, $^3$He and $^4$He nuclei in the final state. The data analyzed so far for the fusion processes to d and $^3$He reveal this effect to be a $\sigma$ channel phenomenon associated with the formation of a strongly attractive $\Delta\Delta$ system. The data for the strictly isospin-selective double-pionic fusion to $^4$He, where we expect the largest effect, are currently still analyzed. All inclusive data on this system are well described by our model, too. This case also constitutes the heaviest nuclear system, where exclusive measurements of double-pionic fusion can be carried out with present-day instruments. Surprisingly, the $pp \to pp\pi^0\pi^0$ reaction in the $\Delta\Delta$ region is observed to also show a ABC-like low-$\pi\pi$ mass enhancement, a phenomenon, which deserves special attention.

All the time since its discovery the N$^*$(1440) baryon state, commonly known as Roper resonance, has been a state with many question marks - despite of its 4-star ranking in the particle data book. One reason is that it does not produce any explicit resonance-like structures in the observables of $\pi$N or $\gamma$N reactions. Only in partial wave analyses of $\pi$N scattering data a clear resonance strcuture gets obvious in the $P_{11}$ partial wave. Very recent measurements of the J/$\Psi$ decay by the BES collaboration and of the $pp \to np\pi^+$ reaction at 1.3 GeV by the CELSIUS-WASA collaboration show for the first time a clear resonance structure in the invariant $n\pi^+$ mass spectrum for the Roper resonance at M $\approx$ 1360 MeV with a width of about 150 MeV. These values agree very favorably with the pole position results of recent $\pi$N phase shift analyses. In consequence of this very low-lying pole postion, which is roughly 100 MeV below the nominal value, the decay properties have to be reinvestigated. From our two-pion production data we see that the decay mainly proceeds via N$^* \to $N$\sigma$, i.e. a monopole transition as expected for the breathing mode of the nucleon., Comment: CRIMEA06

Using the MIKE spectrograph, mounted on the 6.5 m Magellan/Clay telescope at the Las Campanas observatory in Chile, we have obtained high-resolution spectra for 60 F and G dwarf stars, all likely members of a density enhancement in the local velocity distribution, referred to as the Hercules stream. Comparing with an existing sample of 102 thin and thick disk stars we have used space velocities, detailed elemental abundances, and stellar ages to trace the origin of the Hercules stream. We find that the Hercules stream stars show a wide spread in stellar ages, metallicities, and element abundances. However, the spreads are not random but separate the Hercules stream into the abundance and age trends as outlined by either the thin disk or the thick disk. We hence claim that the major part of the Hercules stream actually are thin and thick disk stars. These diverse properties of the Hercules stream point toward a dynamical origin, probably caused by the Galactic bar. However, we can at the moment not entirely rule out that the Hercules stream could be the remnants of a relatively recent merger event., Comment: 4 pages, to appear in proceedings for the "Metal-rich Universe" conference, held on La Palma, June 12-16, 2006, G. Israelian and G. Meynet (eds), Cambridge Univ. Press; ISBN-13 978-0-521-87998-9

A homogeneous spectroscopic analysis of unevolved and evolved stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397 with FLAMES-UVES reveals systematic trends of stellar surface abundances that are likely caused by atomic diffusion. This finding helps to understand, among other issues, why the lithium abundances of old halo stars are significantly lower than the abundance found to be produced shortly after the Big Bang., Comment: 8 pages, 7 colour figures, 1 table; can also be downloaded via http://www.eso.org/messenger/

The measurement of the cosmic microwave background has strongly constrained the cosmological parameters of the Universe. When the measured density of baryons (ordinary matter) is combined with standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis calculations, the amounts of hydrogen, helium and lithium produced shortly after the Big Bang can be predicted with unprecedented precision. The predicted primordial lithium abundance is a factor of two to three higher than the value measured in the atmospheres of old stars. With estimated errors of 10 to 25%, this cosmological lithium discrepancy seriously challenges our understanding of stellar physics, Big Bang nucleosynthesis or both. Certain modifications to nucleosynthesis have been proposed, but found experimentally not to be viable. Diffusion theory, however, predicts atmospheric abundances of stars to vary with time, which offers a possible explanation of the discrepancy. Here we report spectroscopic observations of stars in the metalpoor globular cluster NGC 6397 that reveal trends of atmospheric abundance with evolutionary stage for various elements. These element-specific trends are reproduced by stellar-evolution models with diffusion and turbulent mixing. We thus conclude that diffusion is predominantly responsible for the low apparent stellar lithium abundance in the atmospheres of old stars by transporting the lithium deep into the star., Comment: 10 pages, 3 two-panel figures, 2 tables, includes all Supplementary Information otherwise accessible online via www.nature.com

We present abundances of carbon and oxygen as well as abundance ratios 12C/13C for a sample of carbon stars in the LMC, SMC, Carina, Sculptor and Fornax dwarf galaxies. The overall metallicities in these dwarf galaxies are lower than in the galactic disc. The observations cover most of the AGB and we discuss the abundance patterns in different regions along the AGB. The abundances are determined from infrared spectra obtained with the ISAAC spectrometer on VLT (R=1500) and the Phoenix Spectrometer on Gemini South (R=50000). The synthetic spectra used in the analysis were computed with MARCS model atmospheres. We find that the oxygen abundance is decreasing with decreasing overall metallicity of the system while the C/O ratio at a given evolutionary phase is increasing with decreasing oxygen abundance. keywords Stars: abundances -- Stars: carbon -- Stars: AGB and post-AGB -- Galaxies: dwarf -- Local Group -- Infrared: stars, Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Proceeding of the 8th Torino Workshop in Granada, February, 2006

We have derived abundances of 33 elements and upper limits for 6 additional elements for the metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -2.42) turn-off star HE 0338-3945 from high-quality VLT-UVES spectra. The star is heavily enriched, by about a factor of 100 relative to iron and the Sun, in the heavy s-elements (Ba, La, ..). It is also heavily enriched in Eu, which is generally considered an r-element, and in other similar elements. It is less enriched, by about a factor of 10, in the lighter s-elements (Sr, Y and Zr). C is also strongly enhanced and, to a somewhat lesser degree, N and O. These abundance estimates are subject to severe uncertainties due to NLTE and thermal inhomogeneities which are not taken into detailed consideration. However, an interesting result, which is most probably robust in spite of these uncertainties, emerges: the abundances derived for this star are very similar to those of other stars with an overall enhancement of all elements beyond the iron peak. We have defined criteria for this class of stars, r+s stars, and discuss nine different scenarios to explain their origin. None of these explanations is found to be entirely convincing. The most plausible hypotheses involve a binary system in which the primary component goes through its giant branch and asymptotic giant branch phases and produces CNO and s-elements which are dumped onto the observed star. Whether the r-element Eu is produced by supernovae before the star was formed (perhaps triggering the formation of a low-mass binary), by a companion as it explodes as a supernova (possibly triggered by mass transfer), or whether it is possibly produced in a high-neutron-density version of the s-process is still unclear. Several suggestions are made on how to clarify this situation., Comment: Accepted for A&A; 22 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Table 2 is in electronic form and available at http://www.astro.uu.se/~karin/table2.dat with description at http://www.astro.uu.se/~karin/jonsellReadMe)

The debate on the oxygen abundances of metal-poor stars has its origin in contradictory results obtained using different abundance indicators. To achieve a better understanding of the problem we have acquired high quality spectra with the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph at VLT, with a signal-to-noise of the order of 100 in the near ultraviolet and 500 in the optical and near infrared wavelength range. Three different oxygen abundance indicators, OH ultraviolet lines around 310.0 nm, the [OI] line at 630.03 nm and the OI lines at 777.1-5 nm were observed in the spectra of 13 metal-poor subgiants with -3.0<=[Fe/H]<=-1.5. Oxygen abundances were obtained from the analysis of these indicators which was carried out assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium and plane-parallel model atmospheres. Abundances derived from OI were corrected for departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium. Stellar parameters were computed using Teff-vs-color calibrations based on the infrared flux method and Balmer line profiles, Hipparcos parallaxes and FeII lines. [O/Fe] values derived from the forbidden line at 630.03 nm are consistent with an oxygen/iron ratio that varies linearly with [Fe/H] as [O/Fe]}=-0.09(+/-0.08)[Fe/H]+0.36(+/-0.15). Values based on the OI triplet are on average 0.19+/-0.22 dex(s.d.) higher than the values based on the forbidden line while the agreement between OH ultraviolet lines and the forbidden line is much better with a mean difference of the order of -0.09+/-0.25 dex(s.d.). In general, our results follow the same trend as previously published results with the exception of the ones based on OH ultraviolet lines. In that case our results lie below the values which gave rise to the oxygen abundance debate for metal-poor stars., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

A stochastic model of the chemical enrichment of metal-poor systems by core-collapse supernovae is used to study the scatter in stellar abundance ratios. The resulting scatter in abundance ratios, e.g. as functions of the overall metallicity, is demonstrated to be crucially dependent on the as yet uncertain supernovae yields. The observed abundance ratios and their scatters therefore have diagnostic power as regards the yields. The relatively small star-to-star scatter observed in many chemical abundance ratios, e.g. by Cayrel et al. (2004) for stars down to [Fe/H] = -4, is tentatively explained by the averaging of a large number of contributing supernovae and by the cosmic selection effects favoring contributions from supernovae in a certain mass range for the most metal-poor stars. The scatter in observed abundances of alpha-elements is understood in terms of observational errors only, while additional spread in yields or sites of nucleosynthesis may affect the odd-even elements Na and Al. For the iron-group elements we find systematically too high predicted Cr/Fe and Cr/Mg ratios, as well as differences between the different sets of yields, both in terms of predicted abundance ratios and scatter. The semi-empirical yields recently suggested by Francois et al. (2004) are found to lead to scatter in abundance ratios significantly greater than observed, when applied in the inhomogeneous models. "Spurs", very narrow sequences in abundance-ratio diagrams, may disclose a single-supernova origin of the elements of the stars on the sequence. Verification of the existence of such features, called single supernova sequences (SSSs), is challenging. This will require samples of several hundred stars with abundance ratios observed to accuracies of 0.05 dex or better., Comment: 19 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We review the field of abundance determinations of elements in cool stars, with special interest paid to determinations based on analyses of high-resolution, 1-5 micron spectra. We discuss the current status, problems, and challenges of exploring high-resolution, near-infrared spectra. In particular, advantages and drawbacks are pointed out. A few examples of current, chemical-abundance determinations are high-lighted and, finally, we discuss the development, Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the ESO Workshop on High Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy in Astronomy held in Garching, Germany, 18-21 November 2003

We have determined the oxygen abundance of HE0107-5240 from UV-OH lines detected in VLT/UVES spectra. Using a plane-parallel LTE model atmosphere, we derive [O/Fe] = +2.4, and a similar analysis of CD -38 245 yields [O/Fe] = +1.0. We estimate systematic errors due to 3D effects to be in the order of 0.3 to 0.4 dex. That is, our derived O abundances are likely overestimates: effects from thermal inhomogeneities due to convection may require that the abundances should be reduced by 0.3-0.4 dex or even more. Radial velocity data for HE0107-5240 based on high-resolution spectra show that over a time span of 373 days the radial velocity was constant at 44.5 km/s, with a 1 sigma scatter of the measurements of 0.5 km/s. However, it can not yet be ruled out that HE0107-5240 is a very long period and/or low amplitude binary. These results provide new constraints on scenarios for the origin of the abundance pattern of HE0107-5240. In particular, it seems unlikely that the large overabundances of CNO have been produced in a medium-mass AGB star which later evolved to a white dwarf. The oxygen abundance of HE0107-5240 is significantly smaller than the prediction of Umeda & Nomoto (2003) from calculated yields of a ~25 solar mass Population III star exploding as a supernova of low explosion energy (E_exp = 3 x 10^50 erg) with mixing and fallback. The scenario of Limongi et al. (2003), involving two Population III supernovae, predicts an oxygen abundance of [O/Fe] = +4.1 for HE0107-5240, in strong contradiction with the observed value. In conclusion, none of the above mentioned scenarios, in their present realizations, can satisfactorly explain the abundance pattern of HE0107-5240., Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters

We report a detailed abundance analysis for HE0107-5240, a halo giant with [Fe/H]_NLTE=-5.3. This star was discovered in the course of follow-up medium-resolution spectroscopy of extremely metal-poor candidates selected from the digitized Hamburg/ESO objective-prism survey. On the basis of high-resolution VLT/UVES spectra, we derive abundances for 8 elements (C, N, Na, Mg, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Ni), and upper limits for another 12 elements. A plane-parallel LTE model atmosphere has been specifically tailored for the chemical composition of {\he}. Scenarios for the origin of the abundance pattern observed in the star are discussed. We argue that HE0107-5240 is most likely not a post-AGB star, and that the extremely low abundances of the iron-peak, and other elements, are not due to selective dust depletion. The abundance pattern of HE0107-5240 can be explained by pre-enrichment from a zero-metallicity type-II supernova of 20-25M_Sun, plus either self-enrichment with C and N, or production of these elements in the AGB phase of a formerly more massive companion, which is now a white dwarf. However, significant radial velocity variations have not been detected within the 52 days covered by our moderate-and high-resolution spectra. Alternatively, the abundance pattern can be explained by enrichment of the gas cloud from which HE0107-5240 formed by a 25M_Sun first-generation star exploding as a subluminous SNII, as proposed by Umeda & Nomoto (2003). We discuss consequences of the existence of HE0107-5240 for low-mass star formation in extremely metal-poor environments, and for currently ongoing and future searches for the most metal-poor stars in the Galaxy., Comment: 60 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

presented. The 2.38 -- 4.08 micron wavelength-range of band 1 of ISO-SWS (Short-Wavelength Spectrometers on board of the Infrared Space Observatory) in which many different molecules -- with their own dependence on each of the stellar parameters -- are absorbing, enables us to estimate the effective temperature, the gravity, the microturbulence, the metallicity, the CNO-abundances, the 12C/13C-ratio and the angular diameter from the ISO-SWS data. Using the Hipparcos' parallax, the radius, luminosity and gravity-inferred mass are derived. The stellar parameters obtained are in good agreement with other published values, though also some discrepancies with values deduced by other authors are noted. For a few stars (Delta Dra, Xi Dra, Alpha Tuc, H Sco and Alpha Cet) some parameters -- e.g. the CNO-abundances -- are derived for the first time. By examining the correspondence between different ISO-SWS observations of the same object and between the ISO-SWS data and the corresponding synthetic spectrum, it is shown that the relative accuracy of ISO-SWS in band 1 (2.38 -- 4.0 micron) is better than 2% for these high-flux sources. The high level of correspondence between observations and theoretical predictions, together with a confrontation of the estimated Teff(ISO) value with Teff-values derived from colours -- which demonstrates the consistency between V-K, BC(K), Teff and the angular diameter derived from optical or IR data -- proves that both the used MARCS models to derive the stellar quantities and the flux calibration of the ISO-SWS detectors have reached a high level of reliability., Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures; Astronomy and Astrophysics, in press; preprints can be obtained by contacting Leen.Decin@ster.kuleuven.ac.be or via WWW on http://www.ster.kuleuven.ac.be/~leen or via anonymous ftp on ftp://ftp.ster.kuleuven.ac.be/dist/leen/latex/h3318 Appendix electronically available (26 pages, 22 figures)

Vega, Sirius, Beta Leo, Alpha Car and Alpha Cen A belong to a sample of twenty stellar sources used for the calibration of the detectors of the Short-Wavelength Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO-SWS). While general problems with the calibration and with the theoretical modelling of these stars are reported in Decin et al. (2002), each of these stars is discussed individually in this paper. As demonstrated in Decin et al. (2002), it is not possible to deduce the effective temperature, the gravity and the chemical composition from the ISO-SWS spectra of these stars. But since ISO-SWS is absolutely calibrated, the angular diameter of these stellar sources can be deduced from their ISO-SWS spectra, which consequently yields the stellar radius (R), the gravity-inferred mass (M) and the luminosity (L) for these stars. These deduced parameters are confronted with other published values and the goodness-of-fit between observed ISO-SWS data and the corresponding synthetic spectrum is discussed., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures; Astronomy and Astrophysics, in press; preprints can be obtained by contacting Leen.Decin@ster.kuleuven.ac.be or via WWW on http://www.ster.kuleuven.ac.be/~leen or via anonymous ftp on ftp://ftp.ster.kuleuven.ac.be/dist/leen/latex/h3318 Appendix electronically available (12 pages, 8 figures)

The fine calibration of the ISO-SWS detectors (Infrared Space Observatory - Short Wavelength Spectrometer) has proven to be a delicate problem. We therefore present a detailed spectroscopic study in the 2.38 -- 12 micron wavelength range of a sample of 16 A0 -- M2 stars used for the calibration of ISO-SWS. By investigating the discrepancies between the ISO-SWS data of these sources, the theoretical predictions of their spectra, the high-resolution FTS-KP (Kitt Peak) spectrum of Alpha Boo and the solar FTS-ATMOS (Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy) spectrum, both calibration problems and problems in computing the theoretical models and the synthetic spectra are revealed. The underlying reasons for these problems are sought for and the impact on the further calibration of ISO-SWS and on the theoretical modelling is discussed extensively., Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures; Astronomy and Astrophysics, in press; preprints can be obtained by contacting Leen.Decin@ster.kuleuven.ac.be or via WWW on http://www.ster.kuleuven.ac.be/~leen or via anonymous ftp on ftp://ftp.ster.kuleuven.ac.be/dist/leen/latex/h3317 Appendix electronically available (3 pages, 7 figures)

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a joint project between astronomical organizations in Europe, USA and Japan. ALMA will consist of at least 64 12-meter antennas operating in the millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength range, with baselines up to 10 km. It will be located at an altitude above 5000m in the Chilean Atacama desert[1]. The ALMA Common Software (ACS) provides a software infrastructure common to all partners and consists of a documented collection of common patterns in control systems and of components, which implement those patterns. The heart of ACS is an object model of controlled devices, called Distributed Objects (DOs), implemented as CORBA network objects. Components such as antenna mount, power supply, etc. are defined by means of DOs. A code generator creates Java Bean components for each DO. Programmers can write Java client applications by connecting those Beans with data-manipulation and visualization Beans using commercial visual development tools or programmatically. ACS is based on the experience accumulated with similar projects in the astronomical and particle accelerator contexts, reusing and extending concepts and components. Although designed for ALMA, ACS has the potential for being used in other new control systems and other distributed software projects, since it implements proven design patterns using state of the art, stable and reliable technology., Comment: ICALEPCS 2001 Conference, San Jose, CA, 27-30 November 2001, Paper THAT005, 3 pages, 2 embedded figures

The interstellar medium of low-metallicity systems undergoing star formation will show chemical abundance inhomogeneities due to supernova events enriching the medium on a local scale. If the star formation time-scale is shorter than the time-scale of mixing of the interstellar matter, the inhomogeneities are reflected in the surface abundances of low-mass stars and thereby detailed information on the nucleosynthesis in the first generations of supernovae is preserved. Characteristic patterns and substructures are therefore expected to be found, apart from the large scatter behaviour, in the distributions of stars when displayed in diagrams relating different element abundance ratios. These patterns emerge from specific variations with progenitor stellar mass of the supernova yields and it is demonstrated that the patterns are insensitive to the initial mass function (IMF) even though the relative density of stars within the patterns may vary. An analytical theory of the formation of patterns is presented and it is shown that from a statistical point of view the abundance ratios can trace the different nucleosynthesis sites even when mixing of the interstellar medium occurs. Using these results, it should be possible to empirically determine supernova yields from the information on relative abundance ratios of a large, homogeneous sample of extremely metal-poor Galactic halo stars., Comment: 20 pages, minor typos corrected to match the published version in A&A. Includes the corrected Figs. 17 and 18 (erratum)

We present the first optical images of scattered light from large, detached gas/dust shells around two carbon stars, R Scl and U Ant, obtained in narrow band filters centred on the resonance lines of neutral K and Na, and in a Str. b filter (only U Ant). They confirm results obtained in CO radio line observations, but also reveal new and interesting structures. Towards R Scl the scattering appears optically thick in both the K and Na filters, and both images outline almost perfectly circular disks with essentially uniform intensity out to a sharp outer radius of 21". These disks are larger -- by about a factor of two -- than the radius of the detached shell which has been marginally resolved in CO radio line data. In U Ant the scattering in the K filter appears to be, at least partially, optically thin, and the image is consistent with scattering in a geometrically thin (3") shell (radius 43") with an overall spherical symmetry. The size of this shell agrees very well with that of the detached shell seen in CO radio line emission. The scattering in the Na filter appears more optically thick, and the image suggests the presence of at least one, possibly two, shells inside the 43" shell. There is no evidence for such a multiple-shell structure in the CO data, but this can be due to considerably lower masses for these inner shells. Weak scattering appears also in a shell which is located outside the 43" shell. The present data do not allow us to conclusively identify the scattering agent, but we argue that most of the emission in the K and Na filter images is to due to resonance line scattering, and that there is also a weaker contribution from dust scattering in the U Ant data. Awaiting new observational data, our interpretation must be regarded as tentative., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, to be published in A&A

We present a detailed spectroscopic study of a sample of bright, mostly cool, stars observed with the Short-Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), which enables the accurate determination of the stellar parameters of the cool giants, but also serves as a critical review of the ISO-SWS calibration., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in `ISO beyond the peaks: The 2nd ISO workshop on analytical spectroscopy', held 2-4 February 2000, at VILSPA

A detailed spectroscopic study of the ISO-SWS data of the red giant Alpha Tau is presented, which enables not only the accurate determination of the stellar parameters of Alpha Tau, but also serves as a critical review of the ISO-SWS calibration. This study is situated in a broader context of an iterative process in which both accurate observations of stellar templates and cool star atmosphere models are involved to improve the ISO-SWS calibration process as well as the theoretical modelling of stellar atmospheres. Therefore a sample of cool stars, covering the whole A0 -- M8 spectral classification, has been observed in order to disentangle calibration problems and problems in generating the theoretical models and corresponding synthetic spectrum. By using stellar parameters found in the literature large discrepancies were seen between the ISO-SWS data and the generated synthetic spectrum of Alpha Tau. A study of the influence of various stellar parameters on the theoretical models and synthetic spectra, in conjunction with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to evaluate objectively the goodness-of-fit, enables us to pin down the stellar parameters with a high accuracy: Teff = 3850 +/- 70 K, log g = 1.50 +/- 0.15, M = 2.3 +/- 0.8 Msun, z = -0.15 +/- 0.20 dex, microturbulence = 1.7 +/- 0.3 km/s, 12C/13C= 10 +/- 1, abundance of C = 8.35 +/- 0.20 dex, abundance of N= 8.35 +/- 0.25 dex, abundance of O = 8.83 +/- 0.15 dex and the angular diameter is 20.77 +/- 0.83 mas. These atmospheric parameters were then compared with the results provided by other authors using other methods and/or spectra., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&A Main Journal on August, 3 2000

We have observed the intermediate regions of the circumstellar envelope of Mira (o Ceti) in photospheric light scattered by three vibration-rotation transitions of the fundamental band of CO, from low-excited rotational levels of the ground vibrational state, at an angular distance of beta = 2"-7" away from the star. The data were obtained with the Phoenix spectrometer mounted on the 4 m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. The spatial resolution is approximately 0.5" and seeing limited. Our observations provide absolute fluxes, leading to an independent new estimate of the mass-loss rate of approximately 3e-7 Msun/yr, as derived from a simple analytic wind model. We find that the scattered intensity from the wind of Mira for 2" < beta < 7" decreases as beta^-3, which suggests a time constant mass-loss rate, when averaged over 100 years, over the past 1200 years., Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

The 13-16 um region observed by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) of several ABG stars are discussed. We present and analyse spectra of seven M giants which show carbon dioxide features. To explain the features of the bands, we suggest they originate from two different circumstellar layers, one being a warm and high density layer close to the star, possibly making the 15 um band optically thick, and the other being a large, cold and optically thin layer extending far out in the wind. This could explain the difference in temperatures of the different bands found in the analysis of the spectra and the number of molecules needed for the emission. It is demonstrated that in spite of the bands probably not being formed in vibrational LTE, the temperatures can be estimated from the widths of the bands., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Abundance analysis of carbon has been performed in a sample of 80 late F and early G type dwarf stars in the metallicity range -1.06 < [Fe/H] < 0.26 using the forbidden [C I] line at 8727 A. This line is presumably less sensitive to temperature, atmospheric structure and departures from LTE than alternative carbon criteria. We find that [C/Fe] decreases slowly with increasing [Fe/H] with an overall slope of -0.17 +- 0.03. Our results are consistent with carbon enrichment by superwinds of metal-rich massive stars but inconsistent with a main origin of carbon in low-mass stars. This follows in particular from a comparison between the relation of [C/O] with metallicity for the Galactic stars and the corresponding relation observed for dwarf irregular galaxies. The significance of intermediate-mass stars for the production of carbon in the Galaxy is still somewhat unclear., Comment: 14 pages including 10 Postscript figures, Uses l-aa.sty, Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Complete Postscript file available at ftp://ftp.astro.uu.se/pub/articles/atmos/P133

We have observed the B I 2497 A line to derive the boron abundances of two very metal-poor stars selected to help in tracing the origin and evolution of this element in the early Galaxy: BD +23 3130 and HD 84937. The observations were conducted using the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. A very detailed abundance analysis via spectral synthesis has been carried out for these two stars, as well as for two other metal-poor objects with published spectra, using both Kurucz and OSMARCS model photospheres, and taking into account consistently the NLTE effects on the line formation. We have also re-assessed all published boron abundances of old disk and halo unevolved stars. Our analysis shows that the combination of high effective temperature (Teff > 6000 K, for which boron is mainly ionized) and low metallicity ([Fe/H]<-1) makes it difficult to obtain accurate estimates of boron abundances from the B I 2497 A line. This is the case of HD 84937 and three other published objects (including two stars with [Fe/H] ~ -3), for which only upper limits can be established. BD +23 3130, with [Fe/H] ~ -2.9 and logN(B)_NLTE=0.05+/-0.30, appears then as the most metal-poor star for which a firm measurement of the boron abundance presently exists. The evolution of the boron abundance with metallicity that emerges from the seven remaining stars with Teff < 6000 K and [Fe/H]<-1, for which beryllium abundances were derived using the same stellar parameters, shows a linear increase with a slope ~ 1. Furthermore, the B/Be ratio found is constant at a value ~ 20 for stars in the range -3<[Fe/H]<-1. These results point to spallation reactions of ambient protons and alpha particles with energetic particles enriched in CNO as the origin of boron and beryllium in halo stars., Comment: 38 pages, 11 Encapsulated Postscript figures (included), uses aaspp4.sty. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. The preprint is also available at: http://www.iac.es/publicaciones/preprints.html