Abstract
Ring waves of star formation, propagating outward in the galactic disks, leave chemical abundance gradients in their wakes. We show that the relative (Fe/O) abundance gradients in ring galaxies can be used as a tool for determining the role of the SN Ia explosions in their chemical enrichment. We con- sider two mechanismsa self-induced wave and a density wavethat can create outwardly propagating star-forming rings in a purely gaseous disk and demonstrate that the radial distribution of the relative (Fe/O) abundance gradients depends neither on the particular mechanism of the wave formation anor on the parameters of the star-forming process. We show that the (Fe/O) pro—le is determined by the velocity of the wave, the initial mass function, and the initial chemical composition of the star-forming gas. If the role of SN Ia explosions is negligible in the chemical enrichment, the ratio (Fe/O) remains constant throughout the galactic disk with a steep gradient at the wave front. If SN Ia stars are impor- tant in the production of cosmic iron, the (Fe/O) ratio has a gradient in the wake of the star-forming wave with the value depending on the frequency of SN Ia explosions. Subject headings: galaxies: abundancesgalaxies: ISMgalaxies: structure
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