Stellar Astrophysics Halo stars

EASE scenario for the formation of halo stars

     Halo stars can be distinguished from disk stars by their lower metallicity and their very different kinematics. They are generally assumed to be old, and would be the first witnesses of the formation of our Galaxy. The analysis of their surface composition would allow to trace the primordial nucleosynthetic processes. It is thus particularly important to know the details of their abundances and to compare them to the Sun and other disk stars.

     The low metallicity of the halo stars is comparable to that of the globular clusters, which form another conspicuous component of the galactic halo. In a near future, the spectroscopic observations will allow to study in detail the chemical composition of these clusters and to compare them with the field halo stars.

Sample spectrum