Abundances in 23 open clusters. I.

The rapid neutron-capture, or r-process, elements are formed in the environments and/or remnants of massive stars, while the slow neutron-capture, or s-process, elements are primarily formed in low-mass AGB stars. These elements can provide much information about Galactic star formation and enrichment, but observational data are limited.

We have assembled a sample of 68 stars in 23 open clusters that we use to probe abundance trends for six neutron-capture elements (Eu, Gd, Dy, Mo, Pr, and Nd) with cluster age and location in the disk of the Galaxy. In order to keep our analysis as homogeneous as possible, we use an automated synthesis fitting program, which also enables us to measure multiple (3-10) lines for each element. We find that the pure r-process elements (Eu, Gd, and Dy) have positive trends with increasing cluster age, while the mixed r- and s-process elements (Mo, Pr, and Nd) have insignificant trends consistent with zero.