Despite its importance, the Galactic Bulge and its globular cluster (GC) system in particular, remain relatively unexplored due to high foreground extinction and severely crowded field populations. The new generation of high resolution IR spectrographs opens new and unique perspectives to obtain detailed abundances in the Bulge field and GCs. Using the NIRSPEC spectrograph at Keck II, high resolution, echelle spectra in the range 1.5–1.8 micron of bright giants in the Baade's window and other fields closer to the Galactic center as well as in a sample of 10 Bulge GCs have been obtained. We present the results of our abundance analysis of Fe, Al, 12C, 13C, O, and other α-elements, by using full spectral synthesis techniques.

We present atmospheric parameters, Li abundances, obtained from a detailed spectroscopic analysis, for a sample of stars with different evolutionary stages (turn–off, subgiant, giant stars) in the solar age cluster M67. Observations were carried out with high resolution ($R\sim47000$) at high S/N using the UVES${+}$FLAMES at VLT/UT2. From available photometry, computed synthetic spectra for the region around the Lithium line at 6707.78Å, we derived atmospheric parameters (T$_{\scriptsize\it eff}$, $\log g$, [Fe/H], $v\sin i$), A$_{Li}$ for each star, in order to better underst, the level of mixing, convective dilution of evolved stars in M67.

We have determined the CNO abundances from OH, CH and NH lines in the VLT/UVES UV spectra of HE0107-5240 and CD-38 245 together with the abundances of several metal species, including FeII, whose lines were not detected in blue spectra. The UV abundance analyses support those determined from the blue spectra, in particular the abundance from the FeII lines is in good agreement with the Fe abundance derived from the Fe I lines. It seems unlikely that the large overabundances of CNO have been produced in a medium-mass AGB star which now evolved to a white dwarf. The oxygen abundance is consistent with the predictions of Umeda & Nomoto (2003, 2005), who proposed that HE0107-5240 has formed from a gas cloud which has been enriched by the yields of a $\approx 25$ solar mass Population III star exploding as a supernova of low explosion energy E${=} 3.10^{50}$ erg with mixing and fallback. The odd-even effect predicted in the original models are not evident in the Sc and Co abundances of HE0107-5240, which are better fitted by the low density variant progenitor model.

This research forms the second part of an investigation into heavy element abundances in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in different stellar environments. High resolution spectroscopy was taken of seven known AGB stars in 47 Tucanae and spectrum synthesis undertaken to obtain abundances for s-process elements. Contrary to theoretical predictions, preliminary results show that these AGB stars do show s-process enhancements relative to previously studied Red Giant Branch (RGB) stars in the same cluster.

Observations of the nearest regions of massive star formation such as Orion are reviewed. Early-type stars in the local OB associations, as well as their superbubbles and supershells provide a fossil record of massive star birth in the Solar vicinity over about the last 40 Myr. This record shows that most massive stars are born from dense, high-pressure, hot cores which spawn transient clusters that dissipate into the field soon after formation. A large fraction (15 to 30%) of massive stars are high-velocity runaways moving at more than 20 km s$^{-1}$. High-mass stars have a larger companion fraction than their lower-mass siblings. The Orion star forming complex contains the nearest site of on-going massive star formation. Studies of the Orion Nebula and the dense molecular cloud core located immediately behind the HII region provide our sharpest view of massive star birth. This region has formed a hierarchy of clusters within clusters. The Trapezium, OMC-1S, and OMC-1 regions represent three closely spaced sub-clusters within the more extended Orion Nebula Cluster. The oldest of these sub-clusters, which consists of the Trapezium stars, has completely emerged from its natal core. The OMC-1S and OMC-1 regions, are still highly embedded and forming clusters of additional moderate and high mass stars. Over a dozen YSOs embedded in OMC-1S are driving jets and outflows, many of which are injecting energy and momentum into the Orion Nebula. Recent proper motion measurements indicate that the Becklin-Neugebauer object is a high-velocity star moving away from the OMC1 core with a velocity of 30 km s$^{-1}$, making it the youngest high-velocity star known. Source I may be moving in the opposite direction with a velocity of about 12 km s$^{-1}$. The projected separation between source I and BN was less than few hundred AU about 500 years ago. The spectacular bipolar molecular outflow and system of shock-excited H$_2$ fingers emerging from OMC-1 has a dynamical age of about 1100 years. It is possible that a dynamical interaction between three or more stars in OMC-1 led to the formation of this eruptive outflow.

Searching for objects in the earliest phases of star formation, e.g sources at the beginning of a gravitational collapse, are essential to our understanding of massive star formation. Today a number of precursors of ultra compact HII regions (PUCHs) have been found. Embedded in dense gas and dust, these PUCHs have a high bolometric luminosity but little or no 6 cm radio continuum emission (Molinari, et al. 2000; Beuther, et al. 2002). Evidence for Collapse was found in ultra compact (UC) HII regions and 12 water maser sources (Zhang, et al. 1998; Wu & Evans II 2003). This paper presents the identification of massive cores with no detectable infrared and radio sources. These kinds of cores usually have strong sub-mm emission. A special case is the SCUBA core JCMT 18354-0649S which has both infall and outflow motions as indicated by the profiles of high excitation molecular lines. This core is at a stage earlier than PUCHs. Blue profiles are also found in UC HII region, which indicates that material is still infalling in this phase. Our observations suggest that infall exists in different evolutionary stages for high mass star formation, similar to the low mass cases.

We present a detailed and uniform study of oxygen abundances in a large set of 155 metal-rich dwarfs. EW measurements were carried out for the [OI] 6300 Å line and the OI triplet, while spectral synthesis was performed for several OH lines. NLTE corrections were calculated and applied to the LTE abundance results derived from the triplet. Abundances from [OI], the OI triplet and near-UV OH were obtained in 103, 87 and 77 dwarfs, respectively. A good agreement between [O/H] ratios from forbidden and OH lines is found, while the NLTE triplet shows a systematically lower abundance. Nevertheless, the consistency with other indicators improves if we consider LTE triplet results. In any case, discrepancies between OH, [OI] and the OI triplet hardly exceed 0.2dex. All three indicators show that, on average, [O/Fe] decreases with [Fe/H] in the metallicity range −0.8<[Fe/H]<0.5.

The LTE abundances of sulfur (S) were explored in the sample of 15 metal-poor stars with the metallicity range of −4<[Fe/H]<−1.5, based on the equivalent widths of the S I(1) 9212 and 9237 Å lines measured on high-resolution spectra, which were observed by the Keck I HIRES. Combining our results and those of Takada-Hidai et al. (2005), we found that the behavior of [S/Fe] against [Fe/H] shows a nearly flat trend in the range of metallicity down to [Fe/H]∼−4.

The international Project “Lithium in magnetic CP stars” has been put into operation using telescopes of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (2.6-m reflector ZTSH), European Southern Observatory (1.4-m CAT, 1.52-m with FEROS), Mount Stromlo Observatory (74-inch), Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association (2.4-m with SOFIN), Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (6-m BTA). Here we present an historical report of the different scientific results of this project since its beginning in 1996.

Stars form by gravoturbulent fragmentation of interstellar gas clouds. The supersonic turbulence ubiquitously observed in Galactic molecular gas generates strong density fluctuations with gravity taking over in the densest and most massive regions. Collapse sets in to build up stars and star clusters.

Turbulence plays a dual role. On global scales it provides support, while at the same time it can promote local collapse. Stellar birth is thus intimately linked to the dynamic behavior of parental gas clouds, which governs when and where protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud material to build up stars. The equation of state plays a pivotal role in the fragmentation process. Under typical cloud conditions, massive stars form as part of dense clusters following the “normal” mass function observed, e.g. in the solar neighborhood. However, for gas with an effective polytropic index greater than unity star formation becomes biased towards isolated massive stars. This is relevant for understanding the properties of zero-metallicity stars (Population III) or stars that form under extreme environmental conditions like in the Galactic center or in luminous starbursts.

Fundamental parameters and lithium abundances, ALi, have been derived for a sample of evolved stars in the globular cluster 47 Tuc (from GIRAFFE spectra and MARCS models of atmosphere). These data sample a complete evolutionary sequence from subgiant stage to the tip of the Asymptotic Giant Branch. With this unique observational data set we have analyzed the evolution of ALi along the Red Giant Branch (RGB) using non-standard stellar evolution models, so as to explore the occurence and the efficiency of extra-mixing processes in low mass stars at the so-called Red Giant bump.

The question of how metals are produced in the Universe and where they are located is fundamental for our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. This question can be best addressed using absorption lines seen in the spectra of remote quasars. It has been realized that the spatial distribution of metals around galaxies and more generally in the Intergalactic Medium is complex, and it is often very difficult to associate one absorption system with one galaxy. Except for possibly in the special case of DLA systems, it may be more appropriate to discuss the clustering properties of different classes of objects and to measure their correlation functions. I illustrate these issues with three examples: the distribution of metals around galaxies at intermediate redshift, the modelling of the clustering of C IV systems, and the determination of abundances in Damped Lyman-α systems (and in particular the oxygen abundance). Finally, I note that there is a mass-metallicity relation in Damped Lyman-α systems.

The living record of early Galactic nucleosynthesis is written in the chemical compositions of metal-poor stars. For stars with metallicities $-1.0 \geq $ [Fe/H] $\geq -2.5$, several decades of spectroscopic studies have delineated the abundance trends of elements that are synthesized by major nuclear fusion reaction chains. There is very strong observational evidence that the r-process isotopes identified in metal-poor stars and the solar system matter are in fact the product of two distinct types of r-process events. The observed pattern beyond Z [ges ] 40 up to Th-U should most likely be produced by only one (or a few) r-process event(s) in a unique stellar site. This “main” r-process then produces the “low-Z” elements (40 [les ] Z [les ] 48) under-abundant compared to solar, and reaches the full solar values presumably around Te.

The abundance patterns of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars provide us with important information on nucleosynthesis in supernovae (SNe) formed in a Pop III or EMP environment, and thus on the nature of the first stars in the Universe. We review nucleosynthesis yields of various types of those SNe, focusing on core-collapse (black-hole-forming) SNe with various progenitor masses, explosion energies (including Hypernovae), and asphericity. We discuss the implications of the observed trends in the abundance ratios among iron-peak elements, and the large C/Fe ratio observed in certain EMP stars with particular attention to recently discovered hyper metal-poor (HMP) stars. We show that the abundance pattern of the HMP stars with [Fe/H] <−5 and other EMP stars are in good accord with those of black-hole-forming supernovae, but not pair-instability supernovae. This suggests that black-hole-forming supernovae made important contributions to the early Galactic (and cosmic) chemical evolution. Finally we discuss the nature of First (Pop III) Stars.

We employ a new Infrared Flux Method (IRFM) temperature scale (Ramírez & Meléndez 2005a, b) in order to determine Li, O, and Fe NLTE abundances in a sample of relatively unevolved (dwarfs, turn-off, subgiants) metal-poor stars. We show that the analysis of the permitted OI triplet and FeII lines leads to a plateau in [OI/FeII] over the broad metallicity range $-3.2 <$ [Fe/H] $<-$0.7, independent of temperature and metallicity, and with a star-to-star scatter of only 0.1 dex. The Li abundance in halo stars is also found to be independent of temperature and metallicity (Spite plateau), with a star-to-star scatter of just 0.06 dex over the metallicity range $-3.4 <$ [Fe/H] $<-1$. Our Li abundance (Meléndez & Ramírez 2004) is higher than previously reported values, but still lower than the primordial abundance suggested by WMAP data and BBN.

In grand design spiral galaxies, spiral arms play a dominant role in the oxygen enrichment rate, since type II supernovae are the main source of oxygen, and these supernovae only appear in spiral arms. The connection between the spiral structure and the star formation rate explains oxygen abundance gradients that rise outward, in the external regions of a number of galaxies.

I review recent developments in the field of radio observations of ultracompact H II (UCHII) regions that have appeared in the literature since the last major review (Churchwell 2002). The morphology of UCHII regions continues to be a topic of research and recent studies of individual regions of star formation suggest modifications with respect to the results obtained from galactic plane surveys. I also briefly touch upon the question of the density structure of UCHII regions. Finally, I will also discuss the evidence of time variability in UCHII regions, and present examples of objects that are expanding, varying in flux density, or moving in the sky.

We present elemental abundance ratios for red giant stars in 9 old halo globular clusters based on the homogeneous data sample and analysis method. Our result suggests that [Si/Ti] ratios in old globular clusters decrease with Galactocentric distances, confirming the previous result by Lee & Carney (2002). We propose that contributions from different masses of the Type II suprenovae progenitors that enriched proto-globular clusters' clouds are responsible for this gradient.

We report on a survey of $^7$Li and $^6$Li isotopic abundances in metal-poor halo stars. The spectra of the 24 stars observed with VLT/UVES are of exceptionally high quality: $S/N>400$ and resolving power $R \simeq 120 000$. The $^7$Li abundances on our H$\alpha$$T_{\rm eff}$-scale show very small intrinsic scatter and a pronounced [Fe/H]-dependence. The resulting estimated primordial $^7$Li abundance is about 0.5 dex lower than predicted from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the baryon density inferred by the cosmic microwave background. Nine of the stars yield a positive detection (${>}2\sigma$) of $^6$Li, which suggests the existence of a $^6$Li plateau for halo stars. The most interesting result is the presence of $^6$Li in the very metal-poor ([Fe/H]$=-2.74$) dwarf LP815-43 at the level of $^6$Li/$^7$Li${\simeq}\, 0.05\pm0.02$. According to models for stellar Li depletion due to diffusion or rotationally-induced mixing, a 0.5 dex $^7$Li depletion would require an unrealistic high initial $^6$Li abundance ($\log ^6{\rm Li} \ge 2.0$). Simultaneously, the observed high $^6$Li abundance at such low [Fe/H] can not be reconciled with existing models for Galactic cosmic ray spallation and $\alpha$-fusion reactions. This opens up exciting prospects of pre-Galactic $^6$Li production, possibly due to cosmological cosmic rays or late-decaying massive particles such as the gravitino or neutralino in the Big Bang.

The AMS-02 experiment is a large acceptance magnetic spectrometer which will operate on the International Space Station for more than 3 years. This will allow to perform high statistics studies of cosmic rays in space and the accurate determination of secondary-to-primary ratios such as B/C, and the ratio $^{10}$Be/$^{9}$B, thus allowing to discriminate among the possible propagation models and to infer other clues about the light elements production.