2005ApJ...622L.121V

We report the identification of Ge IV resonance lines in ultraviolet spectra of the hot DA white dwarfs Feige 24, G191-B2B, and GD 246. The lines originate in the stellar photosphere, and we measure low Ge/H abundance ratios ranging between -8.0 and -8.7. We also tentatively identify a resonance line of Sn IV blended with an Fe V line in the spectrum of G191-B2B. The presence of germanium extends our knowledge of the abundance pattern in hot white dwarfs beyond the iron group. The abundance ratio appears nearly solar, which implies either that the germanium abundance mixture in these stars has remained unaltered since leaving the main sequence or that diffusion processes (e.g., selective radiation pressure) are coincidentally reproducing a solar Ge/H ratio.