ABSTRACT
Studies of the kinematics and chemical compositions of Galactic globular clusters (GCs) enable the reconstruction of the history of star formation, chemical evolution, and mass assembly of ...the Galaxy. Using the latest data release (DR16) of the SDSS/APOGEE survey, we identify 3090 stars associated with 46 GCs. Using a previously defined kinematic association, we break the sample down into eight separate groups and examine how the kinematics-based classification maps into chemical composition space, considering only α (mostly Si and Mg) elements and Fe. Our results show that (i) the loci of both in situ and accreted subgroups in chemical space match those of their field counterparts; (ii) GCs from different individual accreted subgroups occupy the same locus in chemical space. This could either mean that they share a similar origin or that they are associated with distinct satellites which underwent similar chemical enrichment histories; (iii) the chemical compositions of the GCs associated with the low orbital energy subgroup defined by Massari and collaborators is broadly consistent with an in situ origin. However, at the low-metallicity end, the distinction between accreted and in situ populations is blurred; (iv) regarding the status of GCs whose origin is ambiguous, we conclude the following: the position in Si–Fe plane suggests an in situ origin for Liller 1 and a likely accreted origin for NGC 5904 and NGC 6388. The case of NGC 288 is unclear, as its orbital properties suggest an accretion origin, its chemical composition suggests it may have formed in situ.
Reconstructing the mass assembly history of the Milky Way relies on obtaining detailed measurements of the properties of many stars in the galaxy, especially in the stellar halo. One of the most ...constraining quantities is stellar age, as it can shed light on the accretion time and quenching of star formation in merging satellites. However, obtaining reliable age estimates for large samples of halo stars is difficult. We report published ages of 120 subgiant halo stars with highly radial orbits that likely belong to the debris of the Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage (GES) galaxy. The majority of these halo stars are old, with an age distribution characterized by a median of 11.6 Gyr and a 16th (84th) percentile of 10.5 (12.7) Gyr. However, the distribution is skewed, with a tail of younger stars that span ages down to ∼6–9 Gyr. All highly radial halo stars have chemical and kinematic/orbital quantities that associate them with the GES debris. Initial results suggest that these intermediate-age stars are not a product of mass transfer and/or stellar mergers, which can bias their age determination low. If this conclusion is upheld by upcoming spectrophotometric studies, then the presence of these stars will pose an important challenge for constraining the properties of the GES merger and the accretion history of the galaxy.
Abstract
In the Λ-Cold Dark Matter model of the universe, galaxies form in part through accreting satellite systems. Previous works have built an understanding of the signatures of these processes ...contained within galactic stellar halos. This work revisits that picture using seven Milky Way–like galaxies in the Latte suite of FIRE-2 cosmological simulations. The resolution of these simulations allows a comparison of contributions from satellites above
M
*
≳ 10 ×
7
M
⊙
, enabling the analysis of observable properties for disrupted satellites in a fully self-consistent and cosmological context. Our results show that the time of accretion and the stellar mass of an accreted satellite are fundamental parameters that in partnership dictate the resulting spatial distribution, orbital energy, and
α
/Fe-Fe/H compositions of the stellar debris of such mergers at present day. These parameters also govern the resulting dynamical state of an accreted galaxy at
z
= 0, leading to the expectation that the inner regions of the stellar halo (
R
GC
≲ 30 kpc) should contain fully phase-mixed debris from both lower- and higher-mass satellites. In addition, we find that a significant fraction of the lower-mass satellites accreted at early times deposit debris in the outer halo (
R
GC
> 50 kpc) that are not fully phased-mixed, indicating that they could be identified in kinematic surveys. Our results suggest that, as future surveys become increasingly able to map the outer halo of our Galaxy, they may reveal the remnants of long-dead dwarf galaxies whose counterparts are too faint to be seen in situ in higher-redshift surveys.
Abstract
Under the assumption of a simple and time-invariant gravitational potential, many Galactic dynamics techniques infer the milky Way’s mass and dark matter distributions from stellar kinematic ...observations. These methods typically rely on parameterized potential models of the Galaxy and must take into account nontrivial survey selection effects, because they make use of the density of stars in phase space. Large-scale spectroscopic surveys now supply information beyond kinematics in the form of precise stellar label measurements (especially element abundances). These element abundances are known to correlate with orbital actions or other dynamical invariants. Here, we use the Orbital Torus Imaging framework that uses abundance gradients in phase space to map orbits. In many cases these gradients can be measured without detailed knowledge of the selection function. We use stellar surface abundances from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment survey combined with kinematic data from the Gaia mission. Our method reveals the vertical (
z
-direction) orbital structure in the Galaxy and enables empirical measurements of the vertical acceleration field and orbital frequencies in the disk. From these measurements, we infer the total surface mass density, Σ, and midplane volume density,
ρ
0
, as a function of Galactocentric radius and height. Around the Sun, we find
Σ
⊙
(
z
=
1.1
kpc
)
=
72
−
9
+
6
M
⊙
pc
−
2
and
ρ
⊙
(
z
=
0
)
=
0.081
−
0.009
+
0.015
M
⊙
pc
−
3
using the most constraining abundance ratio, Mg/Fe. This corresponds to a dark matter contribution in surface density of Σ
⊙,DM
(
z
= 1.1 kpc) = 24 ± 4
M
⊙
pc
−2
, and in total volume mass density of
ρ
⊙,DM
(
z
= 0) = 0.011 ± 0.002
M
⊙
pc
−3
. Moreover, using these mass density values we estimate the scale length of the low-
α
disk to be
h
R
= 2.24 ± 0.06 kpc.
ABSTRACT
The Milky Way’s (MW) inner stellar halo contains an Fe/H-rich component with highly eccentric orbits, often referred to as the ‘last major merger.’ Hypotheses for the origin of this ...component include Gaia-Sausage/Enceladus (GSE), where the progenitor collided with the MW proto-disc 8–11 Gyr ago, and the Virgo Radial Merger (VRM), where the progenitor collided with the MW disc within the last 3 Gyr. These two scenarios make different predictions about observable structure in local phase space, because the morphology of debris depends on how long it has had to phase mix. The recently identified phase-space folds in Gaia DR3 have positive caustic velocities, making them fundamentally different than the phase-mixed chevrons found in simulations at late times. Roughly 20 per cent of the stars in the prograde local stellar halo are associated with the observed caustics. Based on a simple phase-mixing model, the observed number of caustics are consistent with a merger that occurred 1–2 Gyr ago. We also compare the observed phase-space distribution to FIRE-2 Latte simulations of GSE-like mergers, using a quantitative measurement of phase mixing (2D causticality). The observed local phase-space distribution best matches the simulated data 1–2 Gyr after collision, and certainly not later than 3 Gyr. This is further evidence that the progenitor of the ‘last major merger’ did not collide with the MW proto-disc at early times, as is thought for the GSE, but instead collided with the MW disc within the last few Gyr, consistent with the body of work surrounding the VRM.
ABSTRACT
We report evidence from APOGEE for the presence of a new metal-poor stellar structure located within ∼4 kpc of the Galactic Centre. Characterized by a chemical composition resembling those ...of low-mass satellites of the Milky Way, this new inner Galaxy structure (IGS) seems to be chemically and dynamically detached from more metal-rich populations in the inner Galaxy. We conjecture that this structure is associated with an accretion event that likely occurred in the early life of the Milky Way. Comparing the mean elemental abundances of this structure with predictions from cosmological numerical simulations, we estimate that the progenitor system had a stellar mass of ∼5 × 108 M⊙, or approximately twice the mass of the recently discovered Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage system. We find that the accreted:in situ ratio within our metal-poor (Fe/H < –0.8) bulge sample is somewhere between 1:3 and 1:2, confirming predictions of cosmological numerical simulations by various groups.
ABSTRACT
An ensemble of chemical abundances probing different nucleosynthetic channels can be leveraged to build a comprehensive understanding of the chemical and structural evolution of the Galaxy. ...Using GALAH DR3 data, we seek to trace the enrichment by the supernovae Ia, supernovae II, asymptotic giant branch stars, and neutron-star mergers and/or collapsars nucleosynthetic sources by studying the Fe/H, α/Fe, Ba/Fe, and Eu/Fe chemical compositions of ∼50 000 red giant stars, respectively. Employing small Fe/H–α/Fe cells, which serve as an effective reference-frame of supernovae contributions, we characterize the abundance-age profiles for Ba/Fe and Eu/Fe. Our results disclose that these age–abundance relations vary across the Fe/H–α/Fe plane. Within cells, we find negative age–Ba/Fe relations and flat age–Eu/Fe relations. Across cells, we see the slope of the age–Ba/Fe relations evolve smoothly and the Eu/Fe relations vary in amplitude. We subsequently model our empirical findings in a theoretical setting using the flexible Chempy Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) code, using the mean Fe/H, Mg/Fe, Ba/Fe, and age values for stellar populations binned in Fe/H, Mg/Fe, and age space. We find that within a one-zone framework, an ensemble of GCE model parameters vary to explain the data. Using present day orbits from Gaia EDR3 measurements we infer that the GCE model parameters, which set the observed chemical abundance distributions, vary systematically across mean orbital radii. Under our modelling assumptions, the observed chemical abundances are consistent with a small gradient in the high-mass end of the initial mass function (IMF) across the disc, where the IMF is more top heavy towards the inner disc and more bottom heavy in the outer disc.
ABSTRACT
Galactic haloes in a Λ-CDM universe are predicted to host today a swarm of debris resulting from cannibalized dwarf galaxies. The chemodynamical information recorded in their stellar ...populations helps elucidate their nature, constraining the assembly history of the Galaxy. Using data from APOGEE and Gaia, we examine the chemical properties of various halo substructures, considering elements that sample various nucleosynthetic pathways. The systems studied are Heracles, Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage (GES), the Helmi stream, Sequoia, Thamnos, Aleph, LMS-1, Arjuna, I’itoi, Nyx, Icarus, and Pontus. Abundance patterns of all substructures are cross-compared in a statistically robust fashion. Our main findings include: (i) the chemical properties of most substructures studied match qualitatively those of dwarf Milky Way satellites, such as the Sagittarius dSph. Exceptions are Nyx and Aleph, which are chemically similar to disc stars, implying that these substructures were likely formed in situ; (ii) Heracles differs chemically from in situ populations such as Aurora and its inner halo counterparts in a statistically significant way. The differences suggest that the star formation rate was lower in Heracles than in the early Milky Way; (iii) the chemistry of Arjuna, LMS-1, and I’itoi is indistinguishable from that of GES, suggesting a possible common origin; (iv) all three Sequoia samples studied are qualitatively similar. However, only two of those samples present chemistry that is consistent with GES in a statistically significant fashion; (v) the abundance patterns of the Helmi stream and Thamnos are different from all other halo substructures.
ABSTRACT
Since the advent of Gaia astrometry, it is possible to identify massive accreted systems within the Galaxy through their unique dynamical signatures. One such system, Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus ...(GSE), appears to be an early ‘building block’ given its virial mass $\gt 10^{10}\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$ at infall (z ∼ 1−3). In order to separate the progenitor population from the background stars, we investigate its chemical properties with up to 30 element abundances from the GALAH+ Survey Data Release 3 (DR3). To inform our choice of elements for purely chemically selecting accreted stars, we analyse 4164 stars with low-α abundances and halo kinematics. These are most different to the Milky Way stars for abundances of Mg, Si, Na, Al, Mn, Fe, Ni, and Cu. Based on the significance of abundance differences and detection rates, we apply Gaussian mixture models to various element abundance combinations. We find the most populated and least contaminated component, which we confirm to represent GSE, contains 1049 stars selected via Na/Fe versus Mg/Mn in GALAH+ DR3. We provide tables of our selections and report the chrono-chemodynamical properties (age, chemistry, and dynamics). Through a previously reported clean dynamical selection of GSE stars, including $30 \lt \sqrt{J_R / \, \mathrm{kpc\, km\, s^{-1}}} \lt 55$, we can characterize an unprecedented 24 abundances of this structure with GALAH+ DR3. With our chemical selection we characterize the dynamical properties of the GSE, for example mean $\sqrt{J_R / \, \mathrm{kpc\, km\, s^{-1}}} =$$26_{-14}^{+9}$. We find only $(29\pm 1){{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the GSE stars within the clean dynamical selection region. Our methodology will improve future studies of accreted structures and their importance for the formation of the Milky Way.
Abstract
Stellar abundances and ages afford the means to link chemical enrichment to galactic formation. In the Milky Way, individual element abundances show tight correlations with age, which vary ...in slope across (Fe/H–
α
/Fe). Here, we step from characterizing abundances as measures of age, to understanding how abundances trace properties of stellar birth environment in the disk over time. Using measurements from ∼27,000 APOGEE stars (
R
= 22,500, signal-to-noise ratio > 200), we build simple local linear models to predict a sample of elements (X = Si, O, Ca, Ti, Ni, Al, Mn, Cr) using (Fe, Mg) abundances alone, as fiducial tracers of supernovae production channels. Given Fe/H and Mg/H, we predict these elements, X/H, to about double the uncertainty of their measurements. The intrinsic dispersion, after subtracting measurement errors in quadrature is ≈0.015–0.04 dex. The residuals of the prediction (measurement − model) for each element demonstrate that each element has an individual link to birth properties at fixed (Fe, Mg). Residuals from primarily massive-star supernovae (i.e., Si, O, Al) partially correlate with guiding radius. Residuals from primarily supernovae Ia (i.e., Mn, Ni) partially correlate with age. A fraction of the intrinsic scatter that persists at fixed (Fe, Mg), however, after accounting for correlations, does not appear to further discriminate between birth properties that can be traced with present-day measurements. Presumably, this is because the residuals are also, in part, a measure of the typical (in)-homogeneity of the disk’s stellar birth environments, previously inferred only using open cluster systems. Our study implies at fixed birth radius and time that there is a median scatter of ≈0.01–0.015 dex in elements generated in supernovae sources.
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