Phosphorus is one of the few remaining light elements for which little is known about its nucleosynthetic origin and chemical evolution , given the lack of optical absorption lines in the spectra of long-lived FGK-type stars .
We have identified a P I doublet in the near-ultraviolet ( 2135/2136 Å ) that is measurable in stars of low metallicity .
Using archival Hubble Space Telescope -STIS spectra , we have measured P abundances in 13 stars spanning -3.3 \leq [ Fe / H ] \leq - 0.2 , and obtained an upper limit for a star with [ Fe / H ] \sim - 3.8 .
Combined with the only other sample of P abundances in solar-type stars in the literature , which spans a range of -1 \leq [ Fe / H ] \leq + 0.2 , we compare the stellar data to chemical evolution models .
Our results support previous indications that massive-star P yields may need to be increased by a factor of a few to match stellar data at all metallicities .
Our results also show that hypernovae were important contributors to the P production in the early universe .
As P is one of the key building blocks of life , we also discuss the chemical evolution of the important elements to life , C-N-O-P-S , together .