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Wako Aoki

Publications and source records attributed to Wako Aoki.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Bright Metal-Poor Star Survey - I. Tomo-e Gozen narrow-band photometric survey and medium-resolution spectroscopic follow-up

We present the Tomo-e Gozen Bright Metal-Poor Star Survey (TeMPS), a wide-area narrow-band photometric survey for bright metal-poor stars in the northern sky. The survey uses the Tomo-e Gozen camera on the 1.05 m Kiso Schmidt telescope with four narrow-band filters centered on the \ion{Ca}{2} H and K lines, the CH $G$ band, H$\alpha$, and a reference wavelength region. We review the survey strategy, photometric processing, and calibration of metallicity and carbon abundance estimates derived from narrow-band colors. We further present medium-resolution spectroscopic follow-up with Nayuta/MALLS to validate the photometric selection and identify new metal-poor stars. The current data set covers $\gtrsim 22,000$\~deg$^{2}$ in all four bands with a total integration time of $\sim 100$ hr. The median limiting magnitudes at S/N = 20 correspond to $G\sim12.5$. By combining narrow-band photometry with archival broad-band photometry and {\it Gaia} distances, we estimate $T\_{\rm eff}$, $\log (g)$, metallicity, and carbon abundance. Calibration against literature abundances derived from high-resolution spectra shows typical scatters of $< 0.3$ dex in metallicity and $< 0.4$ dex in carbon abundance. We estimate metallicities for $\sim 1.7$ million stars and identify $\sim 16,000$ very metal-poor candidates with [M/H]$_{\rm NB,fin}<-2$. We show that Nayuta/MALLS medium-resolution spectra provide metallicities consistent with high-resolution measurements, with a scatter of $\sim 0.27$ dex. Among 32 photometrically selected candidates followed up with MALLS, 24 are confirmed to have [M/H]$_{\rm MALLS}< -2$, including one newly identified star with [M/H]$_{\rm MALLS}\simeq -3.4$. These results demonstrate that Tomo-e Gozen narrow-band photometry and MALLS medium-resolution spectroscopic follow-up efficiently select bright metal-poor stars for future high-resolution abundance studies. (abbreviated)

astro-ph.SR

Revealing {\alpha}-Element's Past with Subaru/IRD: Oxygen Abundance of 35 Very Metal-Poor Stars from Near-IR OH lines

Oxygen abundances in very and extremely metal-poor (V/EMP) stars provide critical constraints on early massive stars' nucleosynthesis. An Oxygen abundance analysis is presented for 35 V/EMP stars (-4.0<[Fe/H]< -1.5) using near-infrared H-band OH vibro-rotational lines from high-resolution Subaru/IRD spectra. To examine the reliability of these NIR OH lines, the results are compared with the abundances obtained from the 3D/NLTE-insensitive forbidden [OI] 6300{\AA} line using archival high-resolution optical spectra. After homogeneously rederiving stellar parameters and 1D/NLTE Fe abundances using Gaia photo-astrometry and literature optical Fe equivalent width data, oxygen abundance from OH and [OI] lines is determined through 1D/LTE spectral synthesis. A sensitivity analysis confirms that near-IR OH lines are highly sensitive to the adopted temperature compared to the forbidden line. A temperature-dependent discrepancy between the tracers is identified: in cool red giants (Teff <4600 K), OH-based abundances are systematically lower than [OI]-based abundance by 0.05 to 0.25 dex, while warmer red giants show higher OH-based abundances as expected from 3D effects. Despite this systematic offset, the numerous measurable NIR OH lines yield significantly smaller random abundance errors than that of the single, weak [OI] line. Leveraging this statistical precision, an empirical calibration as a function of Teff, log g, [Fe/H], and [C/Fe] is derived to align the 1D/LTE OH abundances onto the [OI] scale. Applying this correction substantially reduces the scatter and temperature dependence in the [O/Fe] versus [Fe/H] plane and flattens the trend, bringing the results into fairly good agreement with Galactic chemical evolution models.

astro-ph.SR

A Systematic NLTE Study of Very Metal-Poor Stars with Metallicity Down to $-4.3$ dex. II. Lithium Abundance and New Insight to the Lithium Plateau

Metal-poor stars are crucially important for understanding the early Galaxy, first stars, and the Universe. In this series of papers, we present a homogeneous non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) abundances analysis of 12 elements for 103 very/extremely metal-poor (VMP/EMP) stars with metallicity down to $-4.3$ dex. The sample was selected from the LAMOST survey and observed by the high-resolution spectroscopy of Subaru. In this paper, we present the NLTE abundances and evolution of lithium in these stars. We report different lithium behaviors corresponding to different evolutionary stages and their signatures: 1) The Spite Plateau shows a slightly positive slope, indicating increasing lithium abundance with increasing metallicity. Most significantly, it appears to extend to lower metallicities as previously suggested, calling into question the reality of the so-called 'meltdown' at low metallicity; 2) We confirm a lithium plateau for lower red giant branch (LRGB) stars with A(Li) $= 1.13$ dex in our sample, while lithium abundance drops rapidly to A(Li)$<0.5$ as stars continue to evolve to higher stage. 3) We identify four Li-rich stars in our sample across different evolutionary stages, showing complex and multiple lithium production mechanisms in VMP/EMP stars. These findings suggest that early Galactic lithium enrichment results from a complex interplay between depletion and production processes.

astro-ph.SR

SMSS J022423.27$-$573705.1: An Extremely Metal-Poor Star with the Most Pronounced Weak $r$-Process Signature

We present the measurement of 26 elemental abundances of SMSS J022423.27$-$573705.1 (SMSS 0224$-$5737), an extremely metal-poor (EMP) star with a weak $r$-process signature. We report the measurements of N, O, V, Zn, and Ba, and the upper limits for Mo, Ru, Pd, Ag, and Eu for the first time. SMSS 0224$-$5737 exhibits low C abundance and high N and O abundances suggesting that C is converted to N by the enhanced mixing during the evolution. The abundance pattern up to the Fe-peak elements is generally in good agreement with the average abundance of EMP stars, although a notable feature is the high [Zn/Fe] ratio ([Zn/Fe] $= +0.88$). We confirm the enhancement of the first-peak neutron-capture elements (Sr, Y, and Zr) and determine a low Ba abundance [Ba/H] $= -5.25$, that is, [Ba/Fe] $= -1.45$. The extremely high ratio of [Zr/Ba] $= +2.60$ makes SMSS 0224$-$5737 the EMP star with the most pronounced weak $r$-process signature observed to date. The abundance pattern of the neutron-capture elements is compared with the yields from $r$-process nucleosynthesis models. The sharp decline in abundances beyond Zr disfavors neutron star merger or electron-capture supernova models, but are reproduced either by proto-neutron star wind models or by magneto-rotational supernova models. Considering the high [Zn/Fe] ratio, a magneto-rotational supernova is the most plausible origin of SMSS 0224$-$5737. This study demonstrates that the abundance measurements of both light and neutron-capture elements, even at low abundances, are crucial for unveiling the astrophysical sites of the weak $r$-process.

astro-ph.SR

Chemical abundances of seven stars in the GD-1 stream

We present the first detailed chemical abundances for seven GD-1 stream stars from Subaru/HDS spectroscopy. Atmospheric parameters were derived via color calibrations ($T\rm_{eff}$) and iterative spectroscopic analysis. LTE abundances for 14 elements ($\alpha$, odd-Z, iron-peak, n-capture) were measured. Six stars trace the main orbit, one resides in a `blob'. All exhibit tightly clustered metallicities ([Fe/H] = -2.38, {\bf intrinsic dispersion smaller than 0.05 dex, average uncertainty is about 0.13 dex}). While one star shows binary mass transfer signatures, the other six display consistent abundance patterns (dispersions $<$ uncertainties). Their iron-peak elements (Sc, Cr, Mn, Ni) match Milky Way halo stars. In contrast, Y and Sr are systematically lower than halo stars of similar [Fe/H]. Significantly, six stars show consistently enhanced [Eu/Fe] $\sim$ 0.60 ($\sigma$ = 0.08). A tight Ba-Eu correlation (r = 0.83, p=0.04) exists, with [Ba/Fe] = -0.03 $\pm$ 0.05, indicating a common r-process origin. This extreme chemical homogeneity strongly supports an origin from a single disrupted globular cluster. The lack of light-element anti-correlations may stem from our sample size or the progenitor's low mass.

astro-ph.GA

Detailed Chemical Abundance Analysis of Metal-Poor Turn-Off Stars: One with [Fe/H] < -4 and Three with [Fe/H] < -3

We present the analysis of four new extremely metal poor turn-off stars thanks to high-resolution spectra obtained with the Subaru/HDS spectrograph. We determined the abundances and upper limits of Li, C, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba. Metallicities range from [Fe/H] = -3.3 to -4.4 dex. For one of the stars, we measure the lithium abundance Log(Li/H) = 2.1 {\pm} 0.2. Two stars of the sample have low [{\alpha}/Fe] abundances. The most metal-poor star of the sample with [Fe/H] = -4.42 dex has a high [Sr/Fe] abundance ratio [Sr/Fe] = 0.9 dex, a high value also found in HE 1327-2326. This star is the second-most iron-poor star observed with Subaru telescope, suggesting that more ultra metal-poor stars could be discovered using high-resolution spectrographs in the Northern Hemisphere.

astro-ph.SR

Th/Eu abundance ratio of red giants in the Kepler Field

The r-process production in the early universe has been well constrained by the extensive studies of metal-poor stars. However, the r-process enrichment in the metal-rich regime is still not well understood. In this study, we examine the abundance ratios of Th and Eu, which represent the actinides and lanthanides, respectively, for a sample of metal-rich disk stars. Our sample covers 89 giant stars in the Kepler field with metallicities $-0.7 \leq \rm{[Fe/H]} \leq 0.4$ and ages from a few hundred Myr to $\sim 14$ Gyr. Age information for this sample is available from stellar seismology, which is essential for studying the radioactive element Th. We derive Th and Eu abundances through $\chi^2$ fitting of high-resolution archival spectra ($R \sim 80,000$) observed with the High Dispersion Spectrograph (HDS) at the Subaru Telescope. We create synthetic spectra for individual stars using a 1D LTE spectral synthesis code, Turbospectrum, adopting MARCS model atmospheres. Our study establishes the use of a less extensively studied Th II line at 5989 angstrom, carefully taking into account the blends of other spectral lines to derive the Th abundance. We successfully determine Eu abundance for 89 stars in our sample and Th for 81 stars. For the remaining 8 stars, we estimate the upper limits of Th abundance. After correcting the Th abundance for the decay, we find no correlation between $\rm{[Th/Eu]}$ and $\rm{[Fe/H]}$, which indicates that actinides production with respect to lanthanides does not depend on metallicity. On the other hand, we find a positive correlation of $\rm{[Th/Eu]}$ with age, with a slope of $0.10 \pm 0.04$. This may hint at the possibility that the dominant r-process sources are different between the early and late universe.

astro-ph.SR

An Actinide-boost Star Discovered in the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus

We report the discovery of an actinide-boost, very metal-poor ($\left[\mathrm{Fe/H} \right]=-2.38$), $r$-process-enhanced ($\left[\mathrm{Eu/Fe} \right]=0.80$) star, LAMOST J0804+5740, within the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE). Based on the high-resolution ($R\sim36,000\; and \;60,000$) and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained with the High Dispersion Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope, the abundances of 48 species are determined. Its $\log\epsilon\rm(\mathrm{Th}/\mathrm{Eu}) = -0.22 $ establishes it as the first confirmed actinide-boost star within the GSE. Comparative analysis of its abundance pattern with theoretical $r$-process models reveals that the magnetorotationally driven jet supernova $r$-process model with $\hat{L}v$ = 0.2 provides the best fit and successfully reproduces the actinide-boost signature. Kinematic analysis of actinide-boost stars reveals that approximately two-thirds of them are classified as $\textit{ex-situ}$ stars, suggesting that actinide-boost stars are more likely to originate from accreted dwarf galaxies. As the first actinide-boost star identified within the GSE, J0804+5740 will provide valuable insights into $r$-process nucleosynthesis in accreted dwarf galaxies like the GSE, especially on the production of the heaviest elements.

astro-ph.SR

Elemental abundances of 44 very metal-poor stars determined from Subaru/IRD near-infrared spectra

Abundances of five elements, Na, Mg, Al, Si, and Sr, are investigated for 44 very metal-poor stars (-4.0 < [Fe/H] < -1.5) in the Galactic halo system based on an Local Thermodinamic Equilibrium (LTE) analysis of high-resolution near-infrared spectra obtained with the Infrared Doppler instrument (IRD) on the Subaru Telescope. Mg and Si abundances are determined for all 44 stars. The Si abundances are determined from up to 29 lines, which provide reliable abundance ratios compared to previous results from a few optical lines. The Mg and Si of these stars are over-abundant, relative to iron, and are well-explained by chemical-evolution models. No significant scatter is found in the abundance ratios of both elements with respect to iron, except for a few outliers. The small scatter of the abundance ratios of these elements provides constraints on the variations of stellar and supernova's yields at very low metallicity. Al abundances are determined for 27 stars from near-infrared lines (e.g., 1312nm), which are expected to be less affected by non-LTE (NLTE) effects than optical resonance lines. The average of the [Al/Fe] ratios is close to the solar value, and no dependence on metallicity is found over -3.0 < [Fe/H] < -2.0. Na abundances are determined for 12 stars; they exhibit Solar abundance ratios and no dependence on metallicity. The Sr abundances determined from the Sr II triplet are significantly higher than those from the optical resonance lines obtained by previous studies for our sample. This discrepancy shows a clear dependence on temperature and surface gravity, supporting models that predict large NLTE effects on the near-infrared lines for metal-poor red giants.

astro-ph.SR

Revisiting Near-Infrared Features of Kilonovae: The Importance of Gadolinium

The observation of the kilonova AT2017gfo and investigations of its light curves and spectra confirmed that neutron star mergers are sites of r-process nucleosynthesis. However, the identification of elements responsible for the spectral features is still challenging, particularly at the near-infrared wavelengths. In this study, we systematically searched for all possible near-infrared transitions of heavy elements using experimentally calibrated energy levels. Our analysis reveals that most candidate elements with strong absorption lines are lanthanides (Z=57-71) and actinides (Z=89-103). This is due to their complex structures leading to many low-lying energy levels, which results in strong transitions in the near-infrared range. Domoto et al. (2022) have shown that La III and Ce III can explain the absorption features at $\lambda\sim$ 12,000 - 15,000 A. While our results confirm that these two elements show strong infrared features, we additionally identify Gd III as the next most promising species. Due to its unique atomic structure involving the half-filled 4f and the outer 5d orbitals, Gd III has one of the lowest-lying energy levels, between which relatively strong transitions occur. We also find absorption lines caused by Gd III in the near-infrared spectrum of a chemically peculiar star HR 465, which supports their emergence in kilonova spectra. By performing radiative transfer simulations, we confirm that Gd III lines affect the feature at $\sim$ 12,000 A previously attributed to La III. Future space-based time-series observations of kilonova spectra will allow the identification of Gd III lines.

astro-ph.HE

Four-hundred Very Metal-poor Stars Studied with LAMOST and Subaru. III. Dynamically Tagged Groups and Chemodynamical Properties

Very metal-poor (VMP) stars record the signatures of early accreted galaxies, making them essential tools for unraveling the early stages of Galaxy formation. Understanding the origin of VMP stars requires comprehensive studies of their chemical compositions and kinematics, which are currently lacking. Hence, we conduct a chemodynamical analysis of 352 VMP stars selected from one of the largest uniform high-resolution VMP star samples, jointly obtained from LAMOST and Subaru. We apply a friends-of-friends clustering algorithm to the master catalog of this high-resolution sample, which consists of 5778 VMP stars. It results in 131 dynamically tagged groups with 89 associated with known substructures in the Milky Way, including Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE), Thamnos, Helmi streams, Sequoia, Wukong, Pontus, and the very metal-poor disk (VMPD). Our findings are: (i) the VMPD shows lower Zn abundances than the rest, which indicates that it could be a relic of small stellar systems; (ii) Sequoia shows moderately high r-process abundances; (iii) Helmi streams show deficiencies in carbon and light neutron-capture elements; (iv) the fraction of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars with no enhancement in heavy elements (CEMP-no stars) seems low in the VMPD and the Helmi streams; and (v) a subgroup in GSE exhibits a very high fraction of r-process enhanced stars, with four out of five showing [Eu/Fe]> +1.0. The abundance patterns of other elements in VMP substructures largely match the whole VMP sample. We also study large-scale correlations between abundance ratios and kinematics without classifying stars into substructures, but it does not yield significant correlations once the overall chemical evolution is considered for most elements.

astro-ph.GA

Unique chemical composition of the very metal-poor star LAMOST J1645+4357

We report on the chemical composition of the very metal-poor ([Fe/H]=-2.9) star LAMOST J1645+4357 that is identified to be a red giant having peculiar abundance ratios by Li et al. (2022). The standard abundance analysis is carried out for this object and the well studied metal-poor star HD~122563 that has similar atmospheric parameters. LAMOST J1645+4357 has a remarkable abundance set, highlighted by these features: (1) Nitrogen is significantly enhanced ([N/Fe]=+1.4) and the total abundance of C and N is also very high ([(C+N)/Fe]=+0.9); (2) alpha-elements are over-abundant with respect to iron as generally found in very metal-poor stars; (3) Ti, Sc, Co and Zn are significantly deficient; (4) Cr and Mn are enhanced compared to most of very metal-poor stars; (5) Sr and Ba are deficient and the Sr/Ba ratio ([Sr/Ba]=-1.0) is significantly lower than the value expected for the r-process. The overall abundance pattern of this object from C to Zn is well reproduced by a faint supernova model assuming spherical explosion, except for the excess of Cr and Mn which requires enhancement of incomplete Si burning or small contributions of a type Ia supernova or a pair-instability supernova. There remains, however, a question why the abundance pattern of this star is so unique among very metal-poor stars.

astro-ph.SR

Transition probabilities of near-infrared Ce III lines from stellar spectra: applications to kilonovae

Kilonova spectra provide us with information of r-process nucleosynthesis in neutron star mergers. However, it is still challenging to identify individual elements in the spectra mainly due to lack of experimentally accurate atomic data for heavy elements in the near-infrared wavelengths. Recently, Domoto et al. (2022) proposed the absorption features around 14500 A in the observed spectra of GW170817/AT2017gfo as Ce III lines. But they used theoretical transition probabilities (gf-values) whose accuracy is uncertain. In this paper, we derive the astrophysical gf-values of the three Ce III lines, aiming at verification of this identification. We model high resolution H-band spectra of four F-type supergiants showing the clear Ce III absorption features by assuming stellar parameters derived from optical spectra in literatures. We also test the validity of the derived astrophysical gf-values by estimating Ce III abundances in Ap stars. We find that the derived astrophysical gf-values of the Ce III lines are systematically lower by about 0.25 dex than those used in previous work of kilonovae, while they are still compatible within the uncertainty range. By performing radiative transfer simulations of kilonovae with the derived gf-values, we find that the identification of Ce III as a source of the absorption features in the observed kilonova spectra still stands, even considering the uncertainties in the astrophysical gf-values. This supports identification of Ce in the spectra of GW170817/AT2017gfo.

astro-ph.HE

Cerium features in kilonova near-infrared spectra: implication from a chemically peculiar star

Observations of the kilonova from a neutron star merger event GW170817 opened a way to directly study r-process nucleosynthesis by neutron star mergers. It is, however, challenging to identify the individual elements in the kilonova spectra due to lack of complete atomic data, in particular, at near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we demonstrate that spectra of chemically peculiar stars with enhanced heavy element abundances can provide us with an excellent astrophysical laboratory for kilonova spectra. We show that the photosphere of a late B-type chemically peculiar star HR 465 has similar lanthanide abundances and ionization degrees with those in the line forming region in a kilonova at $\sim 2.5$ days after the merger. The near-infrared spectrum of HR 465 taken with Subaru/IRD indicates that Ce III lines give the strongest absorption features around 16,000 A and there are no other comparably strong transitions around these lines. The Ce III lines nicely match with the broad absorption features at 14,500 A observed in GW170817 with a blueshift of v=0.1c, which supports recent identification of this feature as Ce III by Domoto et al. (2022).

astro-ph.HE

Gaia DR2 and EDR3 data and evolutionary status of post-AGB stars with high radial velocities

Using the Gaia DR2 and EDR3 data and list of post-AGB candidates, we investigate the parallax, proper motion and binarity for twenty post-AGB stars and candidates having high radial velocities. From their Gaia distances their luminosities and kinematics are derived. The evolutionary status of these stars is discussed from their location on the post-AGB evolutionary tracks. Nine stars are confirmed to be post-AGB stars that have their initial main-sequence mass around one or two solar masses. From their kinematics information, two objects among them are identified to clearly belong to the halo population, suggesting that low-mass. We discuss on the origin and evolutionary status of other objects in the sample of this work with high radial velocities.

astro-ph.SR

Origin of highly $r$-process-enhanced stars in a cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy

The $r$-process-enhanced (RPE) stars provide fossil records of the assembly history of the Milky Way and the nucleosynthesis of the heaviest elements. Observations by the $R$-Process Alliance (RPA) and others have confirmed that many RPE stars are associated with chemo-dynamically tagged groups, which likely came from accreted dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way (MW). However, we do not know how RPE stars are formed. Here, we present the result of a cosmological zoom-in simulation of an MW-like galaxy with $r$-process enrichment, performed with the highest resolution in both time and mass. Thanks to this advancement, unlike previous simulations, we find that most highly RPE ($r$-II; [Eu/Fe] $> +0.7$) stars are formed in low-mass dwarf galaxies that have been enriched in $r$-process elements for [Fe/H] $\,<-2.5$, while those with higher metallicity are formed in situ, in locally enhanced gas clumps that were not necessarily members of dwarf galaxies. This result suggests that low-mass accreted dwarf galaxies are the main formation site of $r$-II stars with [Fe/H] $\,<-2.5$. We also find that most low-metallicity $r$-II stars exhibit halo-like kinematics. Some $r$-II stars formed in the same halo show low dispersions in [Fe/H] and somewhat larger dispersions of [Eu/Fe], similar to the observations. The fraction of simulated $r$-II stars is commensurate with observations from the RPA, and the distribution of the predicted [Eu/Fe] for halo $r$-II stars matches that observed. These results demonstrate that RPE stars can be valuable probes of the accretion of dwarf galaxies in the early stages of their formation.

astro-ph.GA

A Super-Earth Orbiting Near the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone around the M4.5-dwarf Ross 508

We report the near-infrared radial-velocity (RV) discovery of a super-Earth planet on a 10.77-day orbit around the M4.5 dwarf Ross 508 ($J_\mathrm{mag}=9.1$). Using precision RVs from the Subaru Telescope IRD (InfraRed Doppler) instrument, we derive a semi-amplitude of $3.92^{+0.60}_{-0.58}$ ${\rm m\,s}^{-1}$, corresponding to a planet with a minimum mass $m \sin i = 4.00^{+0.53}_{-0.55}\ M_{\oplus}$. We find no evidence of significant signals at the detected period in spectroscopic stellar activity indicators or MEarth photometry. The planet, Ross 508 b, has a semimajor-axis of $0.05366^{+0.00056}_{-0.00049}$ au. This gives an orbit-averaged insolation of $\approx$1.4 times the Earth's value, placing Ross 508 b near the inner edge of its star's habitable zone. We have explored the possibility that the planet has a high eccentricity and its host is accompanied by an additional unconfirmed companion on a wide orbit. Our discovery demonstrates that the near-infrared RV search can play a crucial role to find a low-mass planet around cool M dwarfs like Ross 508.

astro-ph.EP

High-precision chemical abundances of Galactic building blocks. II. Revisiting the chemical distinctness of the Helmi streams

Context: The Helmi streams are a kinematic substructure whose progenitor is likely a dwarf galaxy. Although 20 years have passed since their discovery, it is still unclear whether their members are chemically distinguishable from other halo stars in the Milky Way. Aim: We aim to precisely characterize the chemical properties of the Helmi streams. Methods: We analyzed high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra for 11 Helmi stream stars through a line-by-line abundance analysis. We compared the derived abundances to homogenized literature abundances of the other halo stars, including those belonging to other kinematic substructures, such as Gaia-Enceladus and Sequoia. Results: Compared to typical halo stars, the Helmi stream members clearly show low values of [X/Fe] in elements produced by massive stars, such as Na and $\alpha$-elements. This tendency is seen down to metallicities of at least [Fe/H]$\sim -2.2$, suggesting type~Ia supernovae already started to contribute to the chemical evolution at this metallicity. We find that the [$\alpha$/Fe] ratio does not evolve significantly with metallicity, making the Helmi stream stars less distinguishable from Gaia-Enceladus stars at [Fe/H]$\gtrsim -1.5$. The almost constant but low value of [$\alpha$/Fe] might be indicative of quiescent star formation with low efficiency at the beginning and bursty star formation at later times. We also find extremely low values of [Y/Fe] at low metallicity, providing further support for the claim that light neutron-capture elements are deficient in Helmi streams. While Zn is deficient at low metallicity, it shows a large spread at high metallicity. The origin of the extremely low Y abundances and Zn variations remains unclear. Conclusion: The Helmi stream stars are distinguishable from the majority of the halo stars if homogeneously derived abundances are compared.

astro-ph.GA