![Rubidium is detected as a very intense absorption line at a wavelength of 7800 angstroms. This is a spectrum of one of the discovered rubidium-rich stars superimposed on an artist’s impression of an AGB star. Rubidium is detected as a very intense absorption line at a wavelength of 7800 angstroms. This is a spectrum of one of the discovered rubidium-rich stars superimposed on an artist’s impression of an AGB star.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_square_2_2_to_320px/public/images/news/resultados4_5.jpg?itok=uT_i3tV_)
It has been discovered that the most evolved intermediate-mass stars in our Galaxy are very rich in rubidium. This finding is the first observational evidence that these stars produce enormous quantities of the radioactive isotope 87Rb, as had been predicted from theoretical models of stellar nucleosynthesis more than 40 years ago. This result provides a new observational perspective on the nucleosynthesis of s-elements in AGB stars and imposes observational constraints on theoretical models, which will surely improve our understanding of the final stages in the evolution of intermediate
Advertised on