The Behavior of Chemical Elements in Stars

Basic reference text containing quantitative data on the behaviour of chemical elements in stars.

This book summarizes the behaviour of the spectral lines of the chemical elements in stars. Despite more than a century of observational stellar spectroscopy, no easily accessible form of the data exists. With the opening of new wavelength regions, the necessity of such basic information is greater than ever.Despite more than one century of observational stellar spectroscopy, the resulting data is not available in an easily accessible format. The necessity of such basic information is greater than ever, because new wavelength regions (ultraviolet, infrared) are now accessible and modern receivers can only analyse short stretches of spectra, so that a careful pre-selection of strategic elements is mandatory. This book presents a summary of our knowledge of the behaviour of all chemical elements identified in stars, based on observations rather than on their interpretations. Whenever possible the behaviour is described quantitatively, with the help of equivalent widths in different types of stars, or different ionization stages, for both absorption and emission features. It will provide an authoritative reference book for the astrophysical community.