Adding the s-Process Element Cerium to the APOGEE Survey: Identification and Characterization of Ce ii Lines in the H-band Spectral Window

Nine Ce ii lines have been identified and characterized within the spectral window observed by the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey (between λ 1.51 and 1.69 μ m). At solar metallicities, cerium is an element that is produced predominantly as a result of the slow capture of neutrons (the s-process) during asymptotic giant branch stellar evolution. The Ce ii lines were identified using a combination of a high-resolution ( ) Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) spectrum of α Boo and an APOGEE spectrum ( R = 22,400) of a metal-poor, but s-process enriched, red giant (2M16011638-1201525). Laboratory oscillator strengths are not available for these lines. Astrophysical gf -values were derived using α Boo as a standard star, with the absolute cerium abundance in α Boo set by using optical Ce ii lines that have precise published laboratory gf -values. The near-infrared Ce ii lines identified here are also analyzed, as consistency checks, in a small number of bright red giants using archival FTS spectra, as well as a small sample of APOGEE red giants, including two members of the open cluster NGC 6819, two field stars, and seven metal-poor N- and Al-rich stars. The conclusion is that this set of Ce ii lines can be detected and analyzed in a large fraction of the APOGEE red giant sample and will be useful for probing chemical evolution of the s-process products in various populations of the Milky Way.