A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud

Alexander P. Ji; Vedant Chandra; Selenna Mejias-Torres; Zhongyuan Zhang; Philipp Eitner; Kevin C. Schlaufman; Hillary Diane Andales; Ha Do; Natalie M. Orrantia; Rithika Tudmilla; Pierre N. Thibodeaux; Keivan G. Stassun; Madeline Howell; Jamie Tayar; Maria Bergemann; Andrew R. Casey; Jennifer A. Johnson; Joleen K. Carlberg; William Cerny; José G. Fernández-Trincado; Keith Hawkins; Juna A. Kollmeier; Chervin F.P. Laporte; Guilherme Limberg; Tadafumi Matsuno; Szabolcs Mészáros; Sean Morrison; David L. Nidever; Guy S. Stringfellow; Donald P. Schneider; Riley Thai

doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7

Keith Hawkins, Juna A. Kollmeier, Chervin F.P. Laporte, Guilherme Limberg, Tadafumi Matsuno, Szabolcs Mészáros, Sean Morrison, David L. Nidever, Guy S. Stringfellow, Donald P. Schneider, Riley Thai

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The first stars formed out of pristine gas, causing them to be so massive that none are expected to have survived until today. If their direct descendants were sufficiently low-mass stars, such stars could exist today and would be recognizable by having the lowest metallicities (abundance of elements heavier than helium). Here we present the independent identification and detailed chemical analysis of the star SDSS J0715−7334, finding ultralow elemental abundances of both iron and carbon ([Fe/H] = −4.3, [C/Fe] < −0.2) and total metallicity Z < 7.8 × 10⁻⁷ (log Z/Z_⊙ < −4.3). The star’s orbit indicates that it originates from the halo of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its heavy element abundance pattern can be explained by a primordial supernova with an initial mass of 30 solar masses. This star is over ten times more chemically pristine than the most extreme high-redshift galaxies currently found by the James Webb Space Telescope. It is sufficiently metal-poor that current models of low-mass star formation require dust cooling to explain its existence.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	842-857
Number of pages	16
Journal	Nature Astronomy
Volume	10
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7
State	Published - Jun 2026

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Astronomy and Astrophysics

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10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7

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Ji, A. P., Chandra, V., Mejias-Torres, S., Zhang, Z., Eitner, P., Schlaufman, K. C., Andales, H. D., Do, H., Orrantia, N. M., Tudmilla, R., Thibodeaux, P. N., Stassun, K. G., Howell, M., Tayar, J., Bergemann, M., Casey, A. R., Johnson, J. A., Carlberg, J. K., Cerny, W., ... Thai, R. (2026). A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud. Nature Astronomy, 10(6), 842-857. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7

@article{e55f5f8c60f94359b05716211b359360,

title = "A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud",

abstract = "The first stars formed out of pristine gas, causing them to be so massive that none are expected to have survived until today. If their direct descendants were sufficiently low-mass stars, such stars could exist today and would be recognizable by having the lowest metallicities (abundance of elements heavier than helium). Here we present the independent identification and detailed chemical analysis of the star SDSS J0715−7334, finding ultralow elemental abundances of both iron and carbon ([Fe/H] = −4.3, [C/Fe] < −0.2) and total metallicity Z < 7.8 × 10−7 (log Z/Z⊙ < −4.3). The star{\textquoteright}s orbit indicates that it originates from the halo of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its heavy element abundance pattern can be explained by a primordial supernova with an initial mass of 30 solar masses. This star is over ten times more chemically pristine than the most extreme high-redshift galaxies currently found by the James Webb Space Telescope. It is sufficiently metal-poor that current models of low-mass star formation require dust cooling to explain its existence.",

author = "Ji, \{Alexander P.\} and Vedant Chandra and Selenna Mejias-Torres and Zhongyuan Zhang and Philipp Eitner and Schlaufman, \{Kevin C.\} and Andales, \{Hillary Diane\} and Ha Do and Orrantia, \{Natalie M.\} and Rithika Tudmilla and Thibodeaux, \{Pierre N.\} and Stassun, \{Keivan G.\} and Madeline Howell and Jamie Tayar and Maria Bergemann and Casey, \{Andrew R.\} and Johnson, \{Jennifer A.\} and Carlberg, \{Joleen K.\} and William Cerny and Fern{\'a}ndez-Trincado, \{Jos{\'e} G.\} and Keith Hawkins and Kollmeier, \{Juna A.\} and Laporte, \{Chervin F.P.\} and Guilherme Limberg and Tadafumi Matsuno and Szabolcs M{\'e}sz{\'a}ros and Sean Morrison and Nidever, \{David L.\} and Stringfellow, \{Guy S.\} and Schneider, \{Donald P.\} and Riley Thai",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2026.",

year = "2026",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "10",

pages = "842--857",

journal = "Nature Astronomy",

issn = "2397-3366",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

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Ji, AP, Chandra, V, Mejias-Torres, S, Zhang, Z, Eitner, P, Schlaufman, KC, Andales, HD, Do, H, Orrantia, NM, Tudmilla, R, Thibodeaux, PN, Stassun, KG, Howell, M, Tayar, J, Bergemann, M, Casey, AR, Johnson, JA, Carlberg, JK, Cerny, W, Fernández-Trincado, JG, Hawkins, K, Kollmeier, JA, Laporte, CFP, Limberg, G, Matsuno, T, Mészáros, S, Morrison, S, Nidever, DL, Stringfellow, GS, Schneider, DP & Thai, R 2026, 'A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud', Nature Astronomy, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 842-857. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud

AU - Ji, Alexander P.

AU - Chandra, Vedant

AU - Mejias-Torres, Selenna

AU - Zhang, Zhongyuan

AU - Eitner, Philipp

AU - Schlaufman, Kevin C.

AU - Andales, Hillary Diane

AU - Do, Ha

AU - Orrantia, Natalie M.

AU - Tudmilla, Rithika

AU - Thibodeaux, Pierre N.

AU - Stassun, Keivan G.

AU - Howell, Madeline

AU - Tayar, Jamie

AU - Bergemann, Maria

AU - Casey, Andrew R.

AU - Johnson, Jennifer A.

AU - Carlberg, Joleen K.

AU - Cerny, William

AU - Fernández-Trincado, José G.

AU - Hawkins, Keith

AU - Kollmeier, Juna A.

AU - Laporte, Chervin F.P.

AU - Limberg, Guilherme

AU - Matsuno, Tadafumi

AU - Mészáros, Szabolcs

AU - Morrison, Sean

AU - Nidever, David L.

AU - Stringfellow, Guy S.

AU - Schneider, Donald P.

AU - Thai, Riley

PY - 2026/6

Y1 - 2026/6

N2 - The first stars formed out of pristine gas, causing them to be so massive that none are expected to have survived until today. If their direct descendants were sufficiently low-mass stars, such stars could exist today and would be recognizable by having the lowest metallicities (abundance of elements heavier than helium). Here we present the independent identification and detailed chemical analysis of the star SDSS J0715−7334, finding ultralow elemental abundances of both iron and carbon ([Fe/H] = −4.3, [C/Fe] < −0.2) and total metallicity Z < 7.8 × 10−7 (log Z/Z⊙ < −4.3). The star’s orbit indicates that it originates from the halo of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its heavy element abundance pattern can be explained by a primordial supernova with an initial mass of 30 solar masses. This star is over ten times more chemically pristine than the most extreme high-redshift galaxies currently found by the James Webb Space Telescope. It is sufficiently metal-poor that current models of low-mass star formation require dust cooling to explain its existence.

AB - The first stars formed out of pristine gas, causing them to be so massive that none are expected to have survived until today. If their direct descendants were sufficiently low-mass stars, such stars could exist today and would be recognizable by having the lowest metallicities (abundance of elements heavier than helium). Here we present the independent identification and detailed chemical analysis of the star SDSS J0715−7334, finding ultralow elemental abundances of both iron and carbon ([Fe/H] = −4.3, [C/Fe] < −0.2) and total metallicity Z < 7.8 × 10−7 (log Z/Z⊙ < −4.3). The star’s orbit indicates that it originates from the halo of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its heavy element abundance pattern can be explained by a primordial supernova with an initial mass of 30 solar masses. This star is over ten times more chemically pristine than the most extreme high-redshift galaxies currently found by the James Webb Space Telescope. It is sufficiently metal-poor that current models of low-mass star formation require dust cooling to explain its existence.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105034865091

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105034865091#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7

DO - 10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105034865091

SN - 2397-3366

VL - 10

SP - 842

EP - 857

JO - Nature Astronomy

JF - Nature Astronomy

IS - 6

ER -

A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud

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