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Science 8 July 1994:
Vol. 265. no. 5169, pp. 209 - 213
DOI: 10.1126/science.265.5169.209
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Articles

The Abundance of Heavy Elements in Interstellar Gas

Jason A. Cardelli 1

1 Washburn Observatory, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

The Goddard high-resolution spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to produce interstellar abundance measures of gallium, germanium, arsenic, krypton, tin, thallium, and lead, the heaviest elements detected in interstellar gas. These heavy elements arise from stellar nuclear processes (slow- and rapid-process neutron capture) that are different from those that produce zinc and the lighter elements previously observed. These data allow investigators to study how the heavy elements chemically interact with interstellar dust and to compare interstellar heavy element abundances in the current galactic epoch to those present at the time of the formation of the solar system. For example, the data indicate that the abundance of atoms in interstellar dust cannot be explained by simple condensation models alone and must be heavily influenced by chemistry in the interstellar medium. Also, the data for some elements suggest that their true galactic cosmic abundances may be different from the "fossil" abundances incorporated into the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.

Submitted on March 3, 1994
Accepted on April 22, 1994


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Elemental Composition of Interstellar Dust.
D. G. York (1994)
Science 265, 191-192
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