Lithium-Beryllium-Boron and Oxygen in the early Galaxy

Abstract

Oxygen is a much better evolutionary index than iron to follow the history of Lithium-Beryllium-Boron (LiBeB) since it is the main producer of these light elements at least in the early Galaxy. The O-Fe relation is crucial to the determination of the exact physical process responsible for the LiBeB production. Calculated nucleosynthetic yields of massive stars, estimates of the energy cost of Be production, and above all recent observations reported in this meeting seem to favor a mechanism in which fast nuclei enriched into He, C and O arising from supernovae are accelerated in superbubbles and fragment on H and He in the interstellar medium.

Invited Review, IAU, JD8, Manchester, August 2000, to be published in Highlights of Astronomy