Galactic Chemical Evolution Through High Resolution Spectroscopy

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PI: SnedenAST-0307495University of Texas, AustinDr. Sneden will carry out spectroscopic studies that explore the early chemical evolution of the Milky Way galaxy. His program focuses on the most metal-deficient stars of the Galaxy, those whose chemical abundances can yield the most insight into both the formation and evolution of the Galaxy and the details of stellar nucleosynthesis and evolution. A large program of high resolution spectroscopy of key samples of low metallicity thick disk and halo populations will allow a comparison of the chemical composition of halo stars with those of similar metallicity now proposed to be associated with the thick disk, an expansion of the number of extremely metal-poor stars that have well-determined detailed abundance distributions, and the creation of a statistically meaningful sample of abundances in binary blue metal-poor stars. He will also carry out abundance analyses of several outer halo globular clusters, a population that has not been studied as thoroughly as the more nearby clusters. In this work, he will explore the use of Fabry-Perot imaging for very large samples of cluster abundance studies. Many of his activities will have broad impact. He will continue his collaboration with the atomic physics group at the University of Wisconsin to combine lab and solar abundance studies of selected elements. He will continue to develop and to make available to the community his widely used software and linelist data. He will participate in a series of seminar for secondary school teachers, particularly in leading them in workshops at the McDonald Observatory.***