Nitrogen synthesis and the 'age' of galaxies
Open Access
- 1 November 1978
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Vol. 185 (1) , 77P-80P
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/185.1.77p
Abstract
We suggest that recent observations of the [N/O] abundance ratio in external galaxies can be understood if nitrogen is a primary nucleosynthesis product, manufactured principally in stars of 1–2.5 M⊙. The [N/O] ratio of a galaxy then becomes an indicator of the time that has elapsed since the bulk of star formation occurred, or in other words the nominal ‘age’ of the galaxy.Keywords
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