Context :

Aims : We report on a detailed abundance analysis of the strongly r-process enhanced giant star newly discovered in the HERES project , HE 2327 - 5642 ( [ Fe/H ] = –2.78 , [ r/Fe ] = +0.99 ) .

Methods : Determination of stellar parameters and element abundances was based on analysis of high-quality VLT/UVES spectra .
The surface gravity was calculated from the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium ( NLTE ) ionization balance between Fe i and Fe ii , and Ca i and Ca ii .

Results : Accurate abundances for a total of 40 elements and for 23 neutron-capture elements beyond Sr and up to Th were determined in HE 2327 - 5642 .
For every chemical species , the dispersion of the single line measurements around the mean does not exceed 0.11 dex .
The heavy element abundance pattern of HE 2327 - 5642 is in excellent agreement with those previously derived for other strongly r-process enhanced stars such as CS 22892-052 , CS 31082-001 , and HE 1219-0312 .
Elements in the range from Ba to Hf match the scaled Solar r -process pattern very well .
No firm conclusion can be drawn with respect to a relationship between the fisrt neutron-capture peak elements , Sr to Pd , in HE 2327 - 5642 and the Solar r -process , due to the uncertainty of the latter .
A clear distinction in Sr/Eu abundance ratios was found between the halo stars with different europium enhancement .
The strongly r-process enhanced stars reveal a low Sr/Eu abundance ratio at [ Sr/Eu ] = -0.92 \pm 0.13 , while the stars with 0 < [ Eu/Fe ] < 1 and [ Eu/Fe ] < 0 have 0.36 dex and 0.93 dex larger Sr/Eu values , respectively .
Radioactive dating for HE 2327 - 5642 with the observed thorium and rare-earth element abundance pairs results in an average age of 13.3 Gyr , when based on the high-entropy wind calculations , and 5.9 Gyr , when using the Solar r-residuals .
HE 2327 - 5642 is suspected to be radial-velocity variable based on our high-resolution spectra , covering \sim 4.3 years .

Conclusions :