Identification of Neodymium in the Apogee H-Band Spectra

Hasselquist, S.; Shetrone, Matthew; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.; Holtzman, Jon; Lawler, J. E.; Allende Prieto, C.; Beers, Timothy C.; Chojnowski, Drew; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Hearty, Fred R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Pereira, C. B.; Placco, Vinicius M.; Villanova, Sandro; Zamora, Olga
Bibliographical reference

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 833, Issue 1, article id. 81, 7 pp. (2016).

Advertised on:
12
2016
Number of authors
17
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
59
Refereed citations
54
Description
We present the detection of 10 lines of singly ionized neodymium (Nd ii, Z = 60) in H-band spectra using observations from the SDSS-III Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. These lines were detected in a metal-poor ([Fe/H] ∼ ‑1.5), neutron-capture element-enhanced star recently discovered in the APOGEE sample. Using an optical high-resolution spectrum, we derive a Nd abundance for this star using Nd ii lines with precise, laboratory-derived gf values. This optical abundance is used to derive log(gf) values for the H-band lines. We use these lines to rederive Nd ii abundances for two more metal-rich, s-process enhanced stars observed by APOGEE and find that these lines yield consistent Nd ii abundances, confirming the Nd enhancement of these stars. We explore the region of parameter space in the APOGEE sample over which these lines can be used to measure Nd ii abundances. We find that Nd abundances can be reliably derived for ∼18% of the red giants observed by APOGEE. This will result in ∼50,000 Milky Way stars with Nd ii abundances following the conclusion of APOGEE-2, allowing for studies of neutron-capture element abundance distributions across the entire Milky Way.