Stellar Abundance Observations

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Ground- and space-based observations of stellar heavy element abundances are providing a clearer picture of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. A large number of (r)apid and (s)low neutron capture process elements, including the first Hubble Space Telescope observations of Pt, Os, Pb and Ge, have been identified in metal-poor, galactic halo stars. In the very low metallicity (i.e. [Fe/H] < --2.0) stars, the abundance pattern of the elements from Ba through the third neutron-capture peak (Os-Pt) is consistent with a scaled solar r-process distribution. These results support previous observations that demonstrate the operation of the r-process, including the synthesis of the heaviest such elements, early in the history of the Galaxy. New ground-based observations further confirm that the s-process element Ba and the r-process element Eu were both synthesized solely by the r-process at low metallicities, and indicate the onset of the s-process occurred near [Fe/H] = --2. Over a range of metallicity (--2.90 < [Fe/H] < --0.86) the data indicate that there exist real star-to-star differences in the ratios of the [n-capture/Fe] abundances as well as in the actual spectra of the stars.