Open cluster neutron capture element abundances: clues to the chemical evolution of the Milky Way disk

Heather Jacobson

Michigan State University

Open clusters are excellent tracers of the chemical abundance distributions of the Milky Way disk. Recent years have seen a steady increase in the number of open clusters subject to high resolution spectroscopic study, including the development of large samples of (>20) clusters analyzed homogeneously. While abundances of Fe-peak, light and alpha elements in open clusters have been studied in great detail, cluster neutron capture element abundance information is relatively sparse and largely inhomogeneous, save for a few s-process elements. Neutron capture elements are formed in Type II supernovae and in late stages of evolution in low mass stars, and therefore yield important clues to the chemical enrichment history of the galaxy. We have undertaken a study of Ba, La and Eu abundances in some two dozen open clusters to explore n-capture abundance trends with cluster age, metallicity and location in the disk, which will yield clues to the formation and evolution of the Milky Way disk. The latest results from this ongoing analysis are presented here.