The ninth-magnitude star BD+44 493 (center) is by far brightest among the stars in this area. (DSS images from STScI and AAO/ROE)
Old stars are keys to understanding the nature of the first stars and the earliest stages of the formation of the universe. Observations with the Subaru Telescope, fitted with its High Dispersion Spectrograph (HDS), have yielded data about the chemical composition of an old, bright star — BD+44 493 — that shed light on how the early stars may have developed during the infancy of the universe.
Old Stars Are Important Messengers
According to the Big Bang theory, the early universe was composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. The creation of elements other than hydrogen and helium (heavy elements technically referred to as “metals” in astrophysics) occurred later, through a process of nucleosynthesis, when new atomic nuclei are developed inside the stars. Therefore, the proportion of metals in an astronomical object (its “metallicity”) may provide an indication of its age. Older stars have lower metallicities than younger stars such as our Sun. Because their atmospheres usually preserve the chemical composition of the gas from which they formed, old, low-metallicity stars hold evidence of their own creation — information that provides clues to processes occurring in the early universe.
Figure 1: Comparison of spectra of BD+44 493 (blue) and the Sun (black). Absorption lines show that heavy elements are much weaker in BD+44 493 than in the Sun.
Recent Research Reveals Characteristics of Metal-Deficient Stars Such old stars having few heavy elements (low metallicity) are found in our Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers have vigorously searched for such stars, and a team of astronomers discovered a star, HE1327-2326, that set the record for the most metal-deficient star ever found. A Subaru observation using the High Dispersion Spectrograph showed that it had the lowest iron content ever seen but that its ratio of carbon and nitrogen relative to iron were remarkably high. (Refer to http://www.naoj.org/Pressrelease/2005/04/13/index.html.) In 2001, another group discovered an iron-deficient star, HE0107-5240, that showed a similar pattern. This led astronomers to suppose that the metal-enrichment histories of these two stars were quite different from that of other low-metal stars.
Spectroscopic studies for a larger sample of metal-deficient stars have been ongoing with the Subaru Telescope and provide more clues about their early development. In the course of one of these studies, a ninth-magnitude star was viewed in twilight as a reference star for the observing program. Although ninth-magnitude stars are not visible to the naked eye, they are bright enough to see with personal telescopes. Analysis showed that this bright star, BD+44 493, contained only 1/5000 of the heavy elements of the Sun and was 10 times brighter than low-metallacity stars known so far.
Figure 2: The chemical composition of BD+44 493 compared to the Sun’s. This predicts a supernova model that yields little iron. The abundance ratios of elements from carbon to iron are well explained by this model, while other ideas are not supported by this observational result.
The combination of BD+44 493’s exceptional brightness and the high resolution of Subaru’s spectroscopic instrument set the stage for pinpointing the details of the star’s chemical composition on a very high quality spectrum. A follow-up observation with the Subaru Telescope revealed a relatively high abundance of carbon, a characteristic similar to that of the most metal-deficient star discovered four years ago, as well as detailed abundance ratios for other elements.
Astronomers Find Evidence of a Special Sort of Supernovae in the Very Early Universe
Several scenarios have been proposed to explain the chemical peculiarities of these stars, which are generally metal-poor, yet have a relatively high abundance of carbon. Based on detailed spectroscopic analysis of BD+44 493’s chemical abundance pattern, the team of astronomers conducting this research concluded that only one specific model explains their findings. At least this metal-poor star was formed from a gas cloud polluted by a supernova explosion of a first generation massive star, which yielded carbon-rich but metal-poor material. This is in line with recent studies on chemical enrichment in the universe that revealed that stars and supernovae generate heavy elements or metals.
The chemical abundance measurements for BD+44 493 have provided new evidence of the special sort of supernovae present in the very early phase of the Galaxy. As a bright messenger, this ninth-magnitude old star has brought wisdom about the chemical evolution of the early universe.
This study was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters in June 2009 (The Astrophysical Journal, 698:L37-L41, 2009 June 10) and authored by H. Ito, W. Aoki, S. Honda, and T. Beers.
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The Subaru Telescope is one of the world’s largest optical-infrared telescopes. Located on the sacred mountain of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, it is one of the best sites on Earth to view the Universe. Operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and primarily staffed at its base facility in Hilo, Hawaii, Subaru’s organization collaborates with scientists, educators, and the local community to enhance an understanding of the Universe. For more information, please visit www.SubaruTelescope.org
