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Open AccessArticle10.1017/s1539299600011643

Lithium In Population II Stars

J. A. Thorburn-1995-01-01-Highlights of Astronomy

TL;DRAbstract

Abstract Since the work of Spite & Spite (1982), halo main sequence turn-off stars have usually been considered a site where Li synthesized in the Big-Bang is wholly preserved and uncontaminated by other Li sources. However, the interpretation of halo dwarf Li abundances has become more complex as new samples of halo star Li I observations have become available. Linking the Li plateau abundance identically with the cosmological Li fraction is no longer warranted. At present, observational evidence favors a scenario where most—but not all—of the plateau abundance is cosmological in origin and a non-negligible amount is contributed subsequently by Galactic nucleosynthesis; severe, uniform Li depletion is constrained but not yet completely ruled out.

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Abstract Since the work of Spite & Spite (1982), halo main sequence turn-off stars have usually been considered a site where Li synthesized in the Big-Bang is wholly preserved and uncontaminated by other Li sources. However, the interpretation of halo dwarf Li abundances has become more complex as new samples of halo star Li I observations have become available. Linking the Li plateau abundance identically with the cosmological Li fraction is no longer warranted. At present, observational evidence favors a scenario where most—but not all—of the plateau abundance is cosmological in origin and a non-negligible amount is contributed subsequently by Galactic nucleosynthesis; severe, uniform Li depletion is constrained but not yet completely ruled out.

Keywords

HaloAstrophysicsNucleosynthesisPhysicsStarsAbundance (ecology)Galactic haloPlateau (mathematics)

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