Metal-poor Stars Observed with the Southern African Large Telescope

Abstract

We present the first release of a large-scale study of relatively bright ( V  < 13.5) metal-poor stars observed with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), based on high-resolution spectra of 50 stars with a resolving power of R  ∼ 40,000 and S/N ∼ 20 per pixel at 4300 Å. The elemental abundances of C, Sr, Ba, and Eu are reported, as well as several α -elements (Mg, Ca, Sc, Ti, and V) and iron-peak elements (Mn, Co, Ni, and Zn). We find a diverse array of abundance patterns, including several consistent with the signatures of carbon-enhanced metal-poor CEMP- i and CEMP- r stars. We find that 15 of 50 (30%) are carbon enhanced (with [C/Fe] > +0.70), and that a large fraction (26 of 50, 52%) are enhanced in r -process elements. Among the r -process-enhanced stars, five are strongly enhanced r -II ([Eu/Fe] > +1.0) stars (two of which are newly discovered) and 21 are newly discovered moderately enhanced r -I (+0.3 ≤  [Eu/Fe]  ≤ +1.0) stars. There are eight stars in our sample that, on the basis of their abundances and kinematics, are possible members of the metal-weak thick-disk population. We also compare our measured abundances to progenitor-enrichment models, and find that the abundance patterns for the majority of our stars can be attributed to a single (rather than multiple) enrichment event.