Distribution of stars by Metallicity and Redshift

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the availability of databases containing information on the metallicities, redshifts, and masses of stars, with the aim of estimating chemical abundances at different ages of the universe. Participants explore the feasibility of obtaining such data for individual stars versus larger astronomical objects.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the existence of a large database with estimated metallicities, redshifts, and masses of stars to estimate chemical abundances over time.
  • Another participant provides references to two publications that discuss metallicity measurements for damped Lyman alpha systems, noting that these do not pertain to individual stars.
  • A participant questions whether it is possible to determine the metallicity of distant stars, suggesting that current telescopes may only measure average metallicity for larger objects like galaxies.
  • A later reply acknowledges the previous point about the limitations of measuring individual star metallicities and confirms that the referenced systems do not provide such measurements.
  • The original poster expresses a need to rethink their approach due to the lack of data for individual stars.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the data for individual stars is not readily available and that existing measurements pertain to larger systems. However, there is uncertainty regarding the capabilities of current telescopes to measure metallicity at significant distances.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights limitations regarding the availability of specific data on individual stars and the reliance on measurements from larger astronomical structures. There is also an acknowledgment of the potential need for alternative approaches in research due to these limitations.

pianoplayer98
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Is there a large database that contains, for many stars, their estimated metallicities as well as their redshifts (or, equivalently, distances from us) and masses?

What I'm trying to do is estimate the chemical abundances at different ages of the universe. If I have the metallicity of a star at a given redshift, then I know both its age and its metallicity (and a rough estimate of the proportion of non-H/He elements). Then, if I have this data for varying "weighted metallicities" (metallicity by percentage * mass) for many different redshifts/ages, I can estimate the proportion of elements at varying ages.

Thanks.
 
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Pianoplayer98, Welcome to Physics Forums!

I was unable to find any large databases with the information you seek. I found only these two:

The Astrophysical Journal, 595:L9-L12, 2003 September 20
The Age-Metallicity Relation of the Universe in Neutral Gas: The First 100 Damped Ly Systems
Jason X. Prochaska , Eric Gawiser , Arthur M. Wolfe , Sandra Castro , and S. G. Djorgovski
Received 2003 May 7; accepted 2003 August 8; published 2003 August 21
ABSTRACT
We discuss accurate metallicity measurements for 125 damped Ly (DLA) systems at 0.5 < z < 5
http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-4357/595/1/L9/fulltext/17371.text.html

++++++++++++++++=

A Catalogue of Damped Lyman Alpha Absorption Systems and Radio Flux Densities of the Background Quasars
S. J. Curran, J. K. Webb, M. T. Murphy, R. Bandiera, E. Corbelli and V. V. Flambaum
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 19(4) 455 - 474
Abstract
We present a catalogue of the 322 damped Lyman alpha absorbers
http://www.publish.csiro.au/index.cfm?paper=AS01077

Cheers,
Bobbywhy
 
Are we able to determine metallicity of distant _stars_? I mean - do we have telescopes with resolution high enough to be used for single stars at the distances where the redshift becomes important? I suppose what we can measure is the average metallicity of much larger objects (galaxies?), but not stars.
 
Borek, good point! You are quite correct: the Damped Lyman Alpha systems referenced above certainly are not measurements of individual stars.
 
Thanks so much for the help. When beginning this research, I assumed that such data existed for particular stars and not just whole galaxies, since the age of stars in a galaxy can vary significantly. However, since this data doesn't exist for particular stars, only for large galaxies, I'll probably have to rethink what I'm trying to do an use a different approach.
 

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