A Lambda Boötis star is a type of

chemically peculiar star In astrophysics, chemically peculiar stars (CP stars) are stars with distinctly unusual Metallicity, metal abundances, at least in their surface layers. Classification Chemically peculiar stars are common among hot main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) ...

which has an unusually low abundance of

iron peak The iron peak is a local maximum in the vicinity of Fe ( Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) on the graph of the abundances of the chemical elements. For elements lighter than iron on the periodic table, nuclear fusion releases energy. For iron, and f ...

elements in its surface layers. One possible explanation for this is that it is the result of accretion of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

-poor gas from a

circumstellar disc A circumstellar disc (or circumstellar disk) is a torus, pancake or ring-shaped accretion disk of matter composed of gas, dust, planetesimals, asteroids, or collision fragments in orbit around a star. Around the youngest stars, they are the reser ...

, and a second possibility is the accretion of material from a

hot Jupiter Hot Jupiters (sometimes called hot Saturns) are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter but that have very short orbital periods (). The close proximity to their stars and high surface-atmosphere temp ...

suffering from mass loss. The prototype is Lambda Boötis.

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Further reading