Chemical abundances in LMC stellar populations

Abstract

Aims.We have used FLAMES (the Fibre Large Array Multi Element Spectrograph) at the VLT-UT2 telescope to obtain spectra of a large sample of red giant stars from the inner disk of the LMC, ~2 kpc from the center of the galaxy. We investigate the chemical abundances of key elements to understand the star formation and evolution of the LMC disk: heavy and light [ s-process/Fe] and [ α/Fe] give constraints on the time scales of formation of the stellar population. Cu, Na, Sc, and the iron-peak elements are also studied aiming to better understand the build up of the elements of this population and the origin of these elements. We aim to provide a more complete picture of the LMC's evolution by compiling a large sample of field star abundances.