Observational Constraints on First-Star Nucleosynthesis. I. Evidence for Multiple Progenitors of CEMP-no Stars

We investigate anew the distribution of absolute carbon abundance, $A$© $= \log,\epsilon $©, for carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars in the halo of the Milky Way, based on high-resolution spectroscopic data for a total sample of 305 CEMP stars. The sample includes 147 CEMP-$s$ (and CEMP-r/s) stars, 127 CEMP-no stars, and 31 CEMP stars that are unclassified, based on the currently employed [Ba/Fe] criterion. We confirm previous claims that the distribution of $A$© for CEMP stars is (at least) bimodal, with newly determined peaks centered on $A$©$=7.96$ (the high-C region) and $A$©$=6.28$ (the low-C region). A very high fraction of CEMP-$s$ (and CEMP-r/s) stars belong to the high-C region, while the great majority of CEMP-no stars reside in the low-C region. However, there exists complexity in the morphology of the $A$©-[Fe/H] space for the CEMP-no stars, a first indication that more than one class of first-generation stellar progenitors may be required to account for their observed abundances. The two groups of CEMP-no stars we identify exhibit clearly different locations in the $A$(Na)-$A$© and $A$(Mg)-$A$© spaces, also suggesting multiple progenitors. The clear distinction in $A$© between the CEMP-$s$ (and CEMP-$r\mathrm{/}s$) stars and the CEMP-no stars appears to be $as
successful$,and$likely\ more\ astrophysically\ fundamental$, for the separation of these sub-classes as the previously recommended criterion based on [Ba/Fe] (and [Ba/Eu]) abundance ratios. This result opens the window for its application to present and future large-scale low- and medium-resolution spectroscopic surveys.