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Detection of Neutral Phosphorus in the Near Ultraviolet Spectra of Late-Type Stars

We report the detection of several absorption lines of neutral phosphorus (P, Z=15) in archival near ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We derive phosphorus abundances or interesting upper limits in 14 late-type stars with metallicities spanning -3.8<[Fe/H]<-0.1. Previously, phosphorus had only been studied in Galactic stars with -1.0<[Fe/H]<+0.3. Iron lines reveal abundance offsets between the optical and ultraviolet regions, and we discuss and apply a correction factor to account for this offset. In stars with [Fe/H]>-1.0, the [P/Fe] ratio decreases toward the solar value with increasing metallicity, in agreement with previous observational studies. In stars with [Fe/H]<-1.0, <[P/Fe]>=+0.04+/-0.10, which overlaps with the [P/Fe] ratios found in several high-redshift damped Lyman-alpha systems. This behavior hints at a primary origin in massive stars.