Prof. Francesca Matteucci

Department of Physics, University of Trieste

and INAF – National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF – OATs)

v ponedeljek, 24. februarja 2014, ob 13h v F4

During the Big Bang only light elements (H, D, He, L) were formed whereas all the other elements have been formed inside stars. Chemical evolution of galaxies studies how the majority of chemical elements evolved and distributed in galaxies. To compute chemical evolution we need to assume an history of star formation for each galaxy and take into account possible gas flows (in and out). Stars restore the new chemical elements formed in their interiors at their deaths, which can be quiet or violent (supernovae). Therefore, we need to know the stellar yields, namely the amount of mass in the form of various elements that stars restore into the interstellar medium (ISM) when they die.

I will show how to compute models of chemical evolution for galaxies of different morphological type and the results obtained from these models will be compared to observations. In particular, the comparison between the observed abundances and abundance ratios of the more common elements from carbon to iron and beyond (C, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Fe, s- and r-process elements) to the predicted ones, allows us to impose important constraints on the mechanisms of formation of galaxies as well as on stellar nucleosynthesis. I will show some examples involving galaxies of different type, including the Milky Way, to illustrate how astroarchaeology can shed light on the past history of galaxies and on their early evolutionary phases.