Abstract:
We present a study on the detailed chemical abundances of five new relatively bright r-process-enhanced stars that
were initially observed as part of the SDSS/MARVELS pre-survey. These stars were selected, on the basis of their
metallicities and carbon abundances, among a total of 60 stars, for high-resolution spectroscopic follow-up as part
of the HESP–GOMPA survey (Hanle Echelle SPectrograph—Galactic survey Of Metal Poor stArs). Here we
discuss the three new r-I and two new r-II stars found in this survey. We have carried out a detailed abundance
analysis for each of these stars, at a resolving power of R ∼ 30,000, and we compare our results to the existing
literature. We could measure three of the first r-process-peak elements (Sr, Y, and Zr) in all five stars, while Ba, Ce,
Nd, Sm, Eu, and Dy could be detected among the second r-process-peak elements. Thorium could also be detected
in one of the targets, which is found to be an actinide-boost star. We have carried out a comparative study among
the subpopulations of the r-process-enhanced stars and other stars of the Milky Way halo population to constrain
the origin of this class of objects. These bright r-process-enhanced stars provide an excellent opportunity to study
the nucleosynthesis history of this population in great detail, and shed light on their chemical-enrichment histories.
