From ESO VLT/FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectra , abundance measurements of Zn have been made in \approx 100 individual red giant branch ( RGB ) stars in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy .
This is the largest sample of individual Zn abundance measurements within a stellar system beyond the Milky Way .
In the observed metallicity range , -2.7 \leq \text { [ Fe / H ] } \leq - 0.9 , the general trend of Zn abundances in Sculptor is similar to that of \alpha -elements .
That is , super-solar abundance ratios of [ Zn/Fe ] at low metallicities , which decrease with increasing [ Fe/H ] , eventually reaching subsolar values .
However , at the higher metallicities in Sculptor , \text { [ Fe / H ] } \gtrsim - 1.8 , we find a significant scatter , -0.8 \lesssim \text { [ Zn / Fe ] } \lesssim + 0.4 , which is not seen in any \alpha -element .
Our results are consistent with previous observations of a limited number of stars in Sculptor and in other dwarf galaxies .
These results suggest that zinc has a complex nucleosynthetic origin , behaving neither completely like an \alpha - nor an iron-peak element .