Skip to main content
Log in

Lithium Abundances in Low-Z Stars

  • Published:
Space Science Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An historical view of the discovery and subsequent studies of lithium in low-Z stars is presented. The determination of the lithium abundance in extremely low-Z stars, found in the vast Beers, Preston and Shectman survey, is reviewed. The problem of the exact connection between the lithium abundance found in the photospheres of low-Z stars and the true cosmological abundance of lithium is discussed, and identified as the most important problem to be solved in the coming years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Beers, T.C., Preston, G.W. and Shectman, S.A.: 1985, ‘A Search for Stars of very low Metal Abundance. I’, Astron.J. 90, 2089.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beers, T.C., Preston, G.W. and Shectman, S.A.: 1992, ‘A Search for Stars of very low Metal Abundance’, Astron.J. 103, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cayrel, R., Cayrel de Strobel, G., Campbell and B., Däppen, W.: 1984, ‘The Lithium Abundance of Hyades main-sequence Stars’, Astrophys.J. 283, 205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charbonneau, P. and MacGregor, K.B.: 1993, ‘Angular Momentum Transport in Magnetized Stellar Radiative Zone. II. The Solar Spin-Down’, Astrophys.J. 417, 762.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charbonnel, C., Vauclair and S., Zahn, J.-P.: 1992, ‘Rotation-Induced Mixing and Lithium Depletion in Galactic Clusters’, Astron.Astrophys. 255, 191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, D.K., Primas, F., Coble, K.A., Rebull, L.M., Boesgaard, A.M., Delyannis, C.P., Hobbs, L.M., King, J.R. and Ryan, S.G.: 1995, ‘Some Surprises Concerning the Origin of the Light Elements’ AAS 186, 5805.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deliyannis, C.P., Boesgaard, A.M. and King, J.R.: 1995, ‘Evidence of Higher Primordial Lithium from Keck Observations of M92’, Astrophys.J. 452, 13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guzick, J.A., Willson, L.A. and Brunish, W.M.: 1987 ‘A comparison between mass-losing and standard solar model’, Astrophys.J. 319, 957.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbig, G.H.: 1965, ‘Lithium Abundances in F5–G8 Dwarfs’, Astrophys.J. 141, 588.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, J.R., Deliyannis, C.P. and Boesgaard, A.M.: 1996, ‘Constraints of the Origin of the Remarkable Lithium Abundance in the Halo Star BD+23 3912’, Astron.J. 112, 2839.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemoine, M., Schramm, D.N., Truran, J.W. and Copi, C.J.: 1997, ‘On the Significance of Population II 6Li Abundances’, Astrophys.J. 478, 554.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michaud, G.: 1970, ‘Diffusion Processes in Peculiar A Stars’, Astrophys.J. 160, 641.

    Google Scholar 

  • Molaro, P., Bonifacio, P. and Primas, F.: 1995, ‘About the lithium abundance of halo stars’, Mem.Soc.Astron.It. 66, 323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montalban, J.: 1994, ‘Mixing by internal waves: Lithium depletion in the Sun’, Astron.Astrophys. 281, 421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montalban, J. and Schatzman, E.: 1996, ‘Mixing by internal waves.II. Li and Be depletion rate in low-mass main sequence’, Astron.Astrophys. bf 305, 513.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller, E.A., Peytremann, E., de la Reza, R.: 1975, ‘The Solar Lithium Abundance. II.’, Solar Phys. 41, 53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinsonneault, M.H., Deliyannis, C.P. and Demarque, P.: 1992, ‘Evolutionary models of halo stars with rotation. II-Effects of metallicity on lithium depletion, and possible implications for the primordial lithium abundance’, Astrophys.J.S.S. 78, 179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeves, H.: 1974, ‘On the origin of the light elements’, Ann.Rev.Astron.Astrophys. 12, 437.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, S.G. and Deliyannis, C.P.: 1995, ‘Lithium in Short-Period Tidally Locked Binaries: A Test of Rotationally Induced Mixing’, Astrophys.J. 453, 819.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, S.G., Norris, J.E. and Beers, T.C.: 1996, ‘Extremely Metal-poor Stars. II. Elemental Abundances and the Early Chemical Enrichment of the Galaxy’, Astrophys.J. 471, 254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schatzman, E.: 1977, ‘Turbulent transport and lithium destruction in main sequence stars’, Astron.Astrophys. 56, 211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V.V.: 1996, in Stellar abundances eds. B. Barbuy, W.J. Maciel, J.C. Gregorio-Hetem, Instituto Astronomico e geofisico da USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil, p. 13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V.V., Lambert, D.L. and Nissen, P.E.: 1993, ‘The 6Li/7Li ratio in the metal-poor halo dwarfs HD 19445 and HD 84937’, Astrophys.J. 458, 543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spite, F. and Spite, M.: 1982, ‘Abundance of Lithium in Unevolved Halo Stars and Old Disk Stars: Interpretation and consequences’, Astron.Astrophys. 115, 357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spite, M., Pasquini, L. and Spite, F.: 1994, ‘Lithium in old binary stars’, Astron.Astrophys. 290, 217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spite, M., Fleming, T., Cayrel, R., Pasquini, L. and Spite, F.: 1995, ‘Lithium in metal-deficient binaries’, Mem.Soc.Astron.It. 66, 337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spite, M., François, P., Nissen, P.E. and Spite, F.: 1996, ‘Spread of the lithium abundance in halo stars’, Astron.Astrophys. 307, 172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, J.M., Blake, J.B. and Schramm, D.N.: 1976, ‘Effects of convective overshoot on lithium depletion in main-sequence stars’, Astrophys.J. 204, 481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorburn, J.A., Hobbs, L.M., Deliyannis, C.P. and Pinsonneault, M.H.: 1993, ‘Lithium in the Hyades. I-New observations’, Astrophys.J. 415, 150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vangioni-Flam, E., Cassé, M. and Ramaty, R., 1997 ‘Light element production by low-energy nuclei from massive stars’, in ‘The transparent Universe’, proceedings of the 2nd INTEGRAL workshop, (Saint-Malo, France), ESA, SP-382, p. 123.

  • Vauclair, S. and Charbonnel, S.: 1995, ‘Influence of a stellar wind on the lithium depletion in halo stars: a new step towards the lithium primordial abundance’, Astron.Astrophys. 295, 715.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahn, J.-P.: 1992, ‘Circulation and turbulence in rotating stars’, Astron.Astrophys. 265, 115.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cayrel, R. Lithium Abundances in Low-Z Stars. Space Science Reviews 84, 145–154 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005006932093

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005006932093

Navigation