This element was discovered by C. Mossander in Stockholm in 1842. The name comes from the city of Ytterby in Sweden. This city is also referred to in the names of the elements yttrium and terbium.
Ionization energies
ErI 6.1 eV, ErII 11.9 eV, ErIII 22.7 eV, ErIV 42.6 eV.
Absorption lines of ErII and ErIII
ErII 3616 is seen in one F 0Ib star (W = 0.015) according to
Reynolds et al. (1988).
Behavior in non-normal stars
ErII lines are strengthened in the spectra of some Ap stars of the
Cr-Eu-Sr subgroup. Aikman et al. (1979) also observed ErIII in the spectra
of stars with strong ErII lines, and this was confirmed by Cowley and
Greenberg (1987). The ErIII line at 4000 has W = 0.040. ErII and
ErIII lines
were also detected in the spectrum of one Bp star of the Si subgroup
(Cowley and Crosswhite 1978).
ErII lines are also seen in at least one Am star(van t'Veer-Menneret et al. 1988) with W(4009) = 0052.
ErII lines are enhanced in at least one Ba star (Lambert 1985) and in at least one S-type star (Bidelman 1953).
Isotopes
Er has six stable isotopes and ten unstable isotopes and isomers. The
stable ones are Er 162, 164, 166, 167, 168 and 170. In the solar system
Er166
represents 33% and Er 167, 168 and 170 respectively 23%, 27% and 14%.
Origin
Er is made by several processes - Er162 by the p process,
Er167 and
Er170 by the r process and the others can be made by two
processes, namely Er1164 by the p or the s and
Er166 and Er168 by either the r or the s process.
Published in "The Behavior of Chemical Elements in Stars", Carlos Jaschek and Mercedes Jaschek, 1995, Cambridge University Press.