Barium stars abundances and kinematics

As expected, the barium stars show overabundance of the elements created by the s-process. By measuring the mean heavy-element abundance pattern as given by the ratio [s/Fe], we found that the barium stars present several degrees of enrichment. We also obtained the [hs/ls] ratio by measuring the photospheric abundances of the Ba-peak and the Zr-peak elements.

Our results indicated that the [s/Fe] and the [hs/ls] ratios are strongly anticorrelated with the metallicity. Our kinematical analysis showed that 90 per cent of the barium stars belong to the thin disc population. Based on their luminosities, none of the barium stars are luminous enough to be an asymptotic giant branch star, nor to become self-enriched in the s-process elements.

Finally, we determined that the barium stars also follow an age-metallicity relation.