Detection of Pb II in the Ultraviolet Spectra of Three Metal-Poor Stars
  We report the first detection of the Pb II line at 2203.534 Angstroms in
three metal-poor stars, using ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We perform
a standard abundance analysis assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) to
derive lead (Pb, Z=82) abundances. The Pb II line yields a higher abundance
than Pb I lines by +0.36 +/- 0.34 dex and +0.49 +/- 0.28 dex in the stars HD
94028 and HD 196944, where Pb I lines had been detected previously. The Pb II
line is likely formed in LTE, and these offsets affirm previous calculations
showing that Pb I lines commonly used as abundance indicators underestimate the
Pb abundance in LTE. Pb is enhanced in the s-process-enriched stars HD 94028
([Pb/Fe] = +0.95 +/- 0.14) and HD 196944 ([Pb/Fe] = +2.28 +/- 0.23), and we
show that Pb-208 is the dominant Pb isotope in these two stars. The log
epsilon(Pb/Eu) ratio in the r-process-enhanced star HD 222925 is 0.76 +/- 0.14,
which matches the Solar System r-process ratio and indicates that the Solar
System r-process residuals for Pb are, in aggregate, correct. The Th/Pb
chronometer in HD 222925 yields an age of 8.2 +/- 5.8 Gyr, and we highlight the
potential of the Th/Pb chronometer as a relatively model-insensitive age
indicator in r-process-enhanced stars.
