Chemical evolution in the solar neighborhood. II - Statistical constraints, finite stellar lifetimes, and inhomogeneities

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (52) References (45) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Chemical evolution in the solar neighborhood. II. Statistical constraints, finite stellar lifetimes, and inhomogeneities. Tinsley, B. M. Abstract The evolution of different chemical-abundance parameters in the solar neighborhood is examined using models for chemical evolution based on several empirical constraints. These constraints include the extreme paucity of metal-poor stars in the solar neighborhood, the undetectably slow enrichment rate since the formation time for the oldest disk stars, and statistical data on stellar birth, death, and mass-loss rates. Abundance equations are derived in two limiting classes of models consistent with all the constraints; low-mass stars are treated with an approximation of a constant-ejection rate rather than the instantaneous-recycling approximation. It is found that chemical inhomogeneities in the interstellar medium have extremely important effects on abundance correlations, provided the apparent scatter in abundances is largely real and not due mostly to errors. Correlations involving s-process elements, carbon, and nitrogen are tentatively interpreted in terms of gas mixing times, stellar lifetimes, and the frequency of star formation. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: September 1976 DOI: 10.1086/154666 Bibcode: 1976ApJ...208..797T Keywords: Abundance; Stellar Evolution; Stellar Models; Carbon; Metals; Milky Way Galaxy; Nitrogen; Nuclear Fusion; Stellar Mass; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |