Abundances and Evolution of Stars in the Bulge of the Galaxy

我们的核中央隆起的重金属组成 银河系是研究恒星类型的重要组成部分 构成了外星系和第一代 我们银河系盘面上的恒星。 目前星星的形成是 他认为，在突出部进行得比在 太阳附近 关于最后一个问题的争议点 20年来一直存在的问题是， 红巨星光谱中的谱线实际上反映了 重元素丰度的增加，或者它们是否可能出现在 由于大气结构的异常 这些明星。 主要研究者（PI）希望进行 通过测量重金属的丰度， 一组选定的膨胀红巨星中的元素。 本研究将 与过去的不同之处在于高色散光谱将 可以用现代固态阵列获得， 分析. 结果将用于估算质量 返回核处理物质的超新星分布 进入星际介质。 第二个项目将是 确定是否碳星巨星（其起源是 同样不清楚）的金属丰度 相对于太阳的组成。

The heavy metal composition of the central nuclear Bulge of our Milky Way Galaxy is important to studies of the types of stars constituting both external galaxies and the first generation of stars in the disk of our Galaxy. Currently star formation is thought to proceed more rapidly in the Bulge than in the neighborhood of the Sun. A point of controversy over the last twenty years has been the question of whether strong absorption lines in the spectra of red giant stars actually reflect an enhanced abundance of heavy elements, or whether they perhaps arise as a consequence of anomalies in the structures of the atmospheres of these stars. The Principal Investigator (PI) wishes to conduct research in this area by measuring the abundance of the heavy metal elements in a selected group of Bulge red giants. This study will differ from those of the past in that high dispersion spectra will be obtained with modern solid state arrays to conduct the abundance analysis. The results will be used to estimate the mass distribution of supernovae which return nuclear-processed material into the interstellar medium. A secondary project will be to determine whether carbon-star giants (the origin of which is likewise unclear) in the Bulge have enhanced metal abundances relative to the Sun's composition.