Abundance analysis of new r-process-enhanced stars from the HESP–GOMPA survey

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.