Population III

English

Alternative forms

• population III

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “the first paper?”) Proposed as a category of stars of even poorer metallicity than Population II.

Proper noun

Population III

1. (astrophysics, usually attributively) A hypothetical population or group of stars which may have existed in the early history of the Universe, characterized by being extremely massive and hot and having an extremely low metallicity.

   Coordinate terms: Population I, Population II

   • 2019 October 26, Ethan Siegel, “Ask Ethan: How Many Generations Of Stars Formed Before Our Sun?”, in Forbes‎^[1], archived from the original on 2020-11-12:

     In other words, we have not yet discovered a true Population III star; revealing these elusive, early stars is one of the main science goals of the soon-to-be-launched James Webb Space Telescope.

   • 2022 November 9, Brandon Vigliarolo, “This ancient quasar may be the remains of the first-gen star that started us all”, in The Register‎^[2], archived from the original on 2022-12-13:

     Thus, the earliest stars – known as Population III – were likely composed of just hydrogen and helium.

   • 2022 December 6, Jonathan O'Callaghan, “Astronomers Grapple with JWST’s Discovery of Early Galaxies”, in Scientific American‎^[3], archived from the original on 2022-12-09:

     Emerging from the primordial hydrogen and helium gas that pervaded the early universe, Population III stars would lack heavier elements, allowing them to reach humongous sizes—hundreds of times bulkier than our sun.

Derived terms

• Pop III (abbreviation)

See also

• black hole star