Nucleosynthesis in a primordial supernova: Carbon and oxygen abundances in SMSS J031300.36-670839.3

Michael S. Bessell, Remo Collet, Stefan C. Keller, Anna Frebel, Alexander Heger, Andrew R. Casey, Thomas Masseron, Martin Asplund, Heather R. Jacobson, Karin Lind, Anna F. Marino, John E. Norris, David Yong, Gary Da Costa, Conrad Chan, Zazralt Magic, Brian Schmidt, Patrick Tisserand

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    63 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 (hereafter SM0313-6708) is a sub-giant halo star, with no detectable Fe lines and large overabundances of C and Mg relative to Ca. We obtained Very Large Telescope-Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) spectra extending to 3060 Å showing strong OH A-X band lines enabling an oxygen abundance to be derived. The OH A-X band lines in SM0313-6708 are much stronger than the CH C-X band lines. Spectrum synthesis fits indicate an [O/C] ratio of 0.02 ± 0.175. Our high signal-to-noise ratio UVES data also enabled us to lower the Fe abundance limit to [Fe/H](3D),NTLE <-7.52 (3σ). These data support our previous suggestion that the star formed from the iron-poor ejecta of a single massive star Population III supernova.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numberL16
    JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
    Volume806
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Jun 2015

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Nucleosynthesis in a primordial supernova: Carbon and oxygen abundances in SMSS J031300.36-670839.3'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this