Stellar parameters and abundances in Reticulum II

The r-process content of ReticulumII thus provides a unique opportunity to study metal mixing in a relic first galaxy. Using multi-object high-resolution spectroscopy with VLT/GIRAFFE and Magellan/M2FS, we identify 32 clear spectroscopic member stars and measure abundances of Mg, Ca, Fe, and Ba where possible.

We find 72_-12_^+10^% of the stars are r-process-enhanced, with a mean <Ba/H>=-1.68{+/-}0.07 and unresolved intrinsic dispersion {sigma}[Ba/H]<0.20. The homogeneous r-process abundances imply that RetII's metals are well mixed by the time the r-enhanced stars form, which simulations have shown requires at least 100Myr of metal mixing in between bursts of star formation to homogenize. This is the first direct evidence of bursty star formation in an ultrafaint dwarf galaxy.