4 in 1957 (aka B 2FH), we know that almost all chemical elements that are present in the Universe come from various generations of stars. Yet the origin of phosphorus remains unclear. While P (phosphorus) plays a crucial role for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and is the primary constituent in energy exchange in cells, in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) 1, 2, phosphorus is the less abundant element of all five in the Solar System 3. Life on Earth is mainly depending on five (chemical) elements: C, N, O, S and P. The phosphorus-rich stars progenitors may significantly contribute to the phosphorus present on Earth today. Specific effects such as rotation or advanced nucleosynthesis in convective-reactive regions in massive stars represent the most promising alternatives to explain the existence of phosphorus-rich stars. Phosphorus-rich stars likely inherit their peculiar chemistry from another nearby stellar source but their intriguing chemical abundance pattern challenge the present stellar nucleosynthesis theoretical predictions. Here we report the discovery of 15 phosphorus-rich stars with unusual overabundances of O, Mg, Si, Al, and Ce. However, current models of (Galactic) chemical evolution under-predict the phosphorus we observe in our Solar System. Among those elements, the origin of phosphorus is of extreme interest because it is known to be essential for life such as we know on Earth. Almost all chemical elements have been made by nucleosynthetic reactions in various kind of stars and have been accumulated along our cosmic history.
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