LITHIUM ABUNDANCES IN STRONG LITHIUM-K GIANT STARS - LTE AND NON-LTE ANALYSES

Detailed non-LTE and LTE analyses are made of two very strong Li K gia nts, HD 19745 and HD 39853, and of the strong Li K giant HD 787. The s tronger star HD 19745 has recently been discovered to show very strong Li. These analyses are based on the observations done at ESO of the r esonance and first secondary Li I lines at 6708 and 6104 Angstrom, res pectively, and on the UV continua measured with the IUE. The non-LTE e ffects found for these stars are large. For the two very strong Li gia nts, the non-LTE abundances of Li are much larger than the typical int erstellar Li abundance, which suggest that this kind of star may be a significant source of new Li in the Galaxy. We need to understand howe ver, how these low-mass and low-rotation stars can produce such large quantities of Li.