
In
astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
, the G-dwarf problem refers to the apparent discrepancy in the distribution of
metallicity
In astronomy, metallicity is the Abundance of the chemical elements, abundance of Chemical element, elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal currently detectable (i.e. non-Dark matter, dark) matt ...
levels in
star
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
s of different
populations
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
as compared to closed box models of galactic chemical evolution. According to closed box models, which represent
galaxies
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...
without outside non-metallic material inflow, the distribution of metallicity levels in stars should follow a logarithmic curve. This amounts to high and low mass stars having the least
metallicity
In astronomy, metallicity is the Abundance of the chemical elements, abundance of Chemical element, elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal currently detectable (i.e. non-Dark matter, dark) matt ...
, with G-type stars inbetween. However, these models are inconsistent with
Milky Way
The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...
observations. Other galaxies have been shown to have the same problem. The name comes from
G-type stars, which are bright enough to be studied easily, yet are most often found
unevolved. This provides an extensive look at relatively young stars. Despite this, the G-dwarf problem has also been observed in
K and
M dwarf
A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...
s (the M dwarf problem).
Bjarne Rosenkilde Jørgensen, “The G Dwarf Problem: Analysis of a New Data Set,” Astronomy & Astrophysics 363, November 2000, 947
/ref>
See also
* Solar analog
Solar-type stars, solar analogs (also analogues), and solar twins are stars that are particularly similar to the Sun. The stellar classification is a hierarchy with solar twin being most like the Sun followed by solar analog and then solar-type. ...
* List of nearest bright stars
The following nearest bright stars are found within of the closest star, the Sun, and have an absolute magnitude of +8.5 or brighter, which is approximately comparable to a listing of stars more luminous than a red dwarf. Right ascension and ...
* List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs
This list covers all known stars, white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, and sub-brown dwarfs within of the Sun. So far, 131 such objects have been found. Only List of nearest bright stars, 22 are bright enough to be visible without a telescope, for whi ...
* Main sequence
In astronomy, the main sequence is a classification of stars which appear on plots of stellar color index, color versus absolute magnitude, brightness as a continuous and distinctive band. Stars on this band are known as main-sequence stars or d ...
** G-type main-sequence star
A G-type main-sequence star (spectral type: G-V), also often, and imprecisely, called a yellow dwarf, or G star, is a main sequence, main-sequence star (luminosity class V) of stellar classification, spectral type G. Such a star has about 0.9 to ...
References
Stellar astronomy
Unsolved problems in astronomy
*
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