arXiv · 2608.30484
Phosphorus abundances and multi-element co-enrichment in nearby FGK stars
Abstract
The distribution of bio-essential elements is key to assessing the chemical fertility of galactic environments. We analyse phosphorus abundances for 233 nearby FGK stars from the Hypatia Catalog, separating thin- and thick-disk populations. We study [P/Fe] as a function of [Fe/H] and other elemental abundances using non-parametric tests and bootstrap resampling, and we examine residual correlations at fixed [Fe/H] together with molar ratios involving P. We find a [P/Fe]-[Fe/H] trend broadly similar to that of alpha elements, supporting a dominant origin in core-collapse supernovae, while deviations point to additional nucleosynthetic channels. Phosphorus shows strong positive correlations with several CHNOPS, alpha, and Fe-peak elements, especially in the thin disk. These co-enrichment patterns remain significant at fixed [Fe/H], indicating that they are not a trivial consequence of global metallicity. Thin-disk stars are also more enriched than thick-disk stars in many elements. The solar P/Mg and P/Si ratios are representative of the local stellar population, whereas solar P/O is relatively elevated. Overall, phosphorus emerges as a tracer of genuine multi-element co-enrichment and of the chemical fertility of the solar neighbourhood.
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Dario Esposito, Giovanni Covone, Donato Giovannelli, Paola Manini, Christian Magliano, Laura Inno, Luca Cacciapuoti, Víctor M. Rivilla, Vito Saggese, Leonardo Testi, Emanuele Cristiano, Luca Tonietti. 2026-08-31. Phosphorus abundances and multi-element co-enrichment in nearby FGK stars. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30484
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