Bibcode
Bihain, G.; Israelian, G.; Rebolo, R.; Bonifacio, P.; Molaro, P.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.423, p.777-786 (2004)
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9
2004
Journal
Citations
59
Refereed citations
55
Description
We present Cu and Zn abundances for 38 FGK stars, mostly dwarfs,
spanning a metallicity range between solar and [Fe/H] = -3. The
abundances were obtained using Kurucz's local thermal equilibrium (LTE)
model atmospheres and the near-UV lines of Cu I 3273.95 Å and Zn I
3302.58 Å observed at high spectral resolution. The trend of
[Cu/Fe] versus [Fe/H] is almost solar for [Fe/H] > -1 and then
decreases to a plateau <[Cu/Fe]> = -0.98 at [Fe/H] < -2.5,
whereas the [Zn/Fe] trend is essentially solar for [Fe/H] > -2 and
then slightly increases at lower metallicities to an average value of
<[Zn/Fe]> = +0.18. We compare our results with previous work on
these elements, and briefly discuss them in terms of nucleosynthesis
processes. Predictions of halo chemical evolution fairly reproduce the
trends, especially the [Cu/Fe] plateau at very low metallicities, but to
a lesser extent the higher [Zn/Fe] ratios at low metallicities,
indicating possibly missing yields.