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Metallicity

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Definition

Metallicity specifies the relative amount of elements heavier than helium (collectively called metals by astronomers) in a star, galaxy, or some part of the interstellar medium. The metallicity of the Sun is Z ⊙ = 1.5 % by mass. The most metal rich stars in the inner Galaxy have two or three times that figure, whereas the most metal poor halo stars of the Milky Way have metallicities as low as 0.0001 Z ⊙. Usually, the abundance of some key element (like Fe or O) is used as a proxy for metallicity. Host stars of extrasolar giant planets (observed in the solar neighborhood) are more metallic than non-planet hosting stars.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Bd Arago, 75014, Paris, France

    Nikos Prantzos

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  1. Nikos Prantzos
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Correspondence to Nikos Prantzos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Prantzos, N. (2014). Metallicity. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_965-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_965-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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