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S. J. Adelman (The Citadel), D. S. Leckrone (GSFC), C. R. Proffitt (CUA/STScI), G. M. Wahlgren (CUA/Lund)
Almost a decade after the last observations were performed by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite its rich archives comprise a wealth of opportunity for the stellar astronomer, in particular when exploring large samples of stars. We have inaugurated an exploration into the nature of chemically peculiar stars through those elemental abundance studies which are best carried out at UV wavelengths. The analysis of the IUE data set is benefited at this time by improvements in data quality as instituted by IUE NEWSIPS and a coaddition procedure that we have implemented for those stars for which multiple spectral images exist in the IUE archives. The IUE data analysis is furthered by high resolution HST/GHRS and STIS spectra obtained for a few appropriate targets. The HST data allow for the production of spectral templates which can subsequently be applied to the lower resolution IUE data in order to more fully understand line blending issues. Our present studies are concentrated on the distribution of heavy elements in the atmospheres of HgMn stars and will be expanded to include other classes of chemical peculiarity in an effort to understand the phenomenon of spectral line anomalies among stars of the upper main sequence. We outline our techniques and present abundance results for the poorly studied element gold in HgMn stars.
This work was supported by a Grant from NASA's ADP Program.