Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2014
Carbon and oxygen abundances in F and G main-sequence stars ranging in metallicity from [Fe/H] = −1.6 to +0.5 are determined from a non-LTE analysis of C i and O i atomic lines in high-resolution spectra. Both C and O are good tracers of stellar populations; distinct trends of [C/Fe] and [O/Fe] as a function of [Fe/H] are found for high- and low-alpha halo stars and for thick- and thin-disk stars. These trends and that of [C/O] provide new information on the nucleosynthesis sites of carbon and the time-scale for the chemical enrichment of the various Galactic components.