This dissertation describes our efforts to use the assembly of matter on nuclear scales as a probe of the assembly of matter on Galactic scales. To investigate the former, we characterize the detailed abundance patterns of the heaviest elements found in ancient, metal-poor stars in the Galaxy. In particular, we place new constraints on and identify several new correlations among the nuclei produced by the rapid nucleosynthetic process, which we use to refine current models of the physical conditions of this process. To investigate the latter, we apply our knowledge of stellar nucleosynthesis to examine correlations between the space motions of stars and their compositions, which retain a record of the composition of the interstellar medium where they formed many billions of years ago. Using new high quality stellar spectra collected from McDonald Observatory and Las Campanas Observatory, we confirm the relative chemical homogeneity of a well-known stellar stream and identify several chemical differences between the two major components of the stellar halo of the Galaxy. Each of these results has significant implications for our understanding of how the Galactic halo formed, grew, and evolved. More profoundly, these results indicate that we have not yet fully characterized the cosmic origins of the heaviest elements in the universe and that we will likely need to examine large samples of metal-poor stars at great distances from the Sun to potentially do so. / text

<p>Chemical evolution addresses the problem of the formation of the chemical elements and their evolution throughout the history of the universe. This thesis discusses in particular the chemical evolution in the young universe and what we may learn from the observations of the oldest stars. The present day production of carbon in the Galaxy is also discussed. Interstellar media of young, metal-poor, star-forming systems are expected to show large chemical abundance inhomogeneities due to local supernova explosions. These inhomogeneities are reflected in the surface abundances of the population of longlived, low-mass stars. A stochastic model of the chemical evolution in such systems is presented and used to study the metallicity distribution and the scatter in chemical abundance ratios. The model takes into account mixing of the enriched material by turbulent motions and cloud collisions in the interstellar medium as well as infall of pristine matter. The predicted metallicity distribution shows, in accordance with observations of extreme Pop II strars in the Galactic halo, a distinct cut-off at [Fe/H]~-4. However, the fraction of stars below [Fe/H]=-4 agrees with observatrion only if a population of metal-free stars (Pop III) was never able to form. The predicted scatter in abundance ratios is demonstrated to be crucially dependent on the as yet uncertain supernova yields and the relatively small star-to-star scatter is tentatively explained by the averaging of a large number of contributing supernovae and by the selection effects favouring contributions from supernovae in a certain mass range for the most metal-poor stars. Furthermore, stars enriched by one single supernova are predicted to be found in very narrow sequences in the abundance ratio diagrams (so called A/A diagrams). Verification of the existence of such features, called single supernova sequences, is observationally challenging. Abundance analysis of carbon was performed in a large sample of solar-type stars in the Galactic disk using the forbidden [C I] line at 8727 Å. A comparison between the relation of [C/O] with metallicity for the Galactic stars and that of dwarf irregular galaxies suggests that large amounts of carbon are produced today by massive, so called Wolf-Rayet stars. Low-mass stars are less important. This was also demonstrated by modelling the chemical evolution of carbon.</p>

Chemical evolution addresses the problem of the formation of the chemical elements and their evolution throughout the history of the universe. This thesis discusses in particular the chemical evolution in the young universe and what we may learn from the observations of the oldest stars. The present day production of carbon in the Galaxy is also discussed. Interstellar media of young, metal-poor, star-forming systems are expected to show large chemical abundance inhomogeneities due to local supernova explosions. These inhomogeneities are reflected in the surface abundances of the population of longlived, low-mass stars. A stochastic model of the chemical evolution in such systems is presented and used to study the metallicity distribution and the scatter in chemical abundance ratios. The model takes into account mixing of the enriched material by turbulent motions and cloud collisions in the interstellar medium as well as infall of pristine matter. The predicted metallicity distribution shows, in accordance with observations of extreme Pop II strars in the Galactic halo, a distinct cut-off at [Fe/H]~-4. However, the fraction of stars below [Fe/H]=-4 agrees with observatrion only if a population of metal-free stars (Pop III) was never able to form. The predicted scatter in abundance ratios is demonstrated to be crucially dependent on the as yet uncertain supernova yields and the relatively small star-to-star scatter is tentatively explained by the averaging of a large number of contributing supernovae and by the selection effects favouring contributions from supernovae in a certain mass range for the most metal-poor stars. Furthermore, stars enriched by one single supernova are predicted to be found in very narrow sequences in the abundance ratio diagrams (so called A/A diagrams). Verification of the existence of such features, called single supernova sequences, is observationally challenging. Abundance analysis of carbon was performed in a large sample of solar-type stars in the Galactic disk using the forbidden [C I] line at 8727 Å. A comparison between the relation of [C/O] with metallicity for the Galactic stars and that of dwarf irregular galaxies suggests that large amounts of carbon are produced today by massive, so called Wolf-Rayet stars. Low-mass stars are less important. This was also demonstrated by modelling the chemical evolution of carbon.