Chemodynamical History of the Galactic Bulge Barbuy, Beatriz; Chiappini, Cristina; Gerhard, Ortwin
Annual review of astronomy and astrophysics,
09/2018, Volume:
56, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The Galactic Bulge can uniquely be studied from large samples of individual stars and is therefore of prime importance for understanding the stellar population structure of bulges in general. Here ...the observational evidence on the kinematics, chemical composition, and ages of Bulge stellar populations based on photometric and spectroscopic data is reviewed. The bulk of Bulge stars are old and span a metallicity range of −1.5 Fe H +0.5. Stellar populations and chemical properties suggest a star-formation timescale below ∼2 Gyr. The overall Bulge is barred and follows cylindrical rotation, and the more metal-rich stars trace a box/peanut (B/P) structure. Dyna-mical models demonstrate the different spatial and orbital distributions of metal-rich and metal-poor stars. We discuss current Bulge-formation scenarios based on dynamical, chemical, chemodynamical, and cosmological models. Despite impressive progress, we do not yet have a successful fully self-consistent chemodynamical Bulge model in the cosmological framework, and we will also need a more extensive chrono-chemical-kinematic 3D map of stars to better constrain such models.
ABSTRACT Using a sample of 69,919 red giants from the SDSS-III/APOGEE Data Release 12, we measure the distribution of stars in the /Fe versus Fe/H plane and the metallicity distribution functions ...(MDFs) across an unprecedented volume of the Milky Way disk, with radius 3 < R < 15 kpc and height kpc. Stars in the inner disk (R < 5 kpc) lie along a single track in /Fe versus Fe/H, starting with -enhanced, metal-poor stars and ending at /Fe ∼ 0 and Fe/H ∼ +0.4. At larger radii we find two distinct sequences in /Fe versus Fe/H space, with a roughly solar- sequence that spans a decade in metallicity and a high- sequence that merges with the low- sequence at super-solar Fe/H. The location of the high- sequence is nearly constant across the disk; however, there are very few high- stars at R > 11 kpc. The peak of the midplane MDF shifts to lower metallicity at larger R, reflecting the Galactic metallicity gradient. Most strikingly, the shape of the midplane MDF changes systematically with radius, from a negatively skewed distribution at 3 < R < 7 kpc, to a roughly Gaussian distribution at the solar annulus, to a positively skewed shape in the outer Galaxy. For stars with kpc or /Fe > 0.18, the MDF shows little dependence on R. The positive skewness of the outer-disk MDF may be a signature of radial migration; we show that blurring of stellar populations by orbital eccentricities is not enough to explain the reversal of MDF shape, but a simple model of radial migration can do so.
Abstract
Using tracer particles embedded in self-gravitating shearing sheet N-body simulations, we investigate the distance in guiding centre radius that stars or star clusters can migrate in a few ...orbital periods. The standard deviations of guiding centre distributions and maximum migration distances depend on the Toomre or critical wavelength and the contrast in mass surface density caused by spiral structure. Comparison between our simulations and estimated guiding radii for a few young supersolar metallicity open clusters, including NGC 6583, suggests that the contrast in mass surface density in the solar neighbourhood has standard deviation (in the surface density distribution) divided by mean of about 1/4 and larger than measured using COBE data by Drimmel and Spergel. Our estimate is consistent with a standard deviation of ∼0.07 dex in the metallicities measured from high-quality spectroscopic data for 38 young open clusters (<1 Gyr) with mean galactocentric radius 7–9 kpc.
The solar neighbourhood contains disc stars that have recently crossed spiral arms in the Galaxy. We propose that boundaries in local velocity distributions separate stars that have recently crossed ...and been more strongly perturbed by a particular arm from those that haven't. Ridges in the stellar velocity distributions constructed from the second Gaia data release trace orbits that could have touched nearby spiral arms at apocentre or pericentre. The multiple ridges and arcs seen in local velocity distributions are consistent with the presence of multiple spiral features and different pattern speeds and imply that the outer Galaxy is flocculent rather than grand design.
Abstract
In this work, we study the phase-space and chemical properties of the Sagittarius (Sgr) stream, the tidal tails produced by the ongoing destruction of the Sgr dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy, ...focusing on its very metal-poor (VMP; Fe/H < −2) content. We combine spectroscopic and astrometric information from SEGUE and Gaia EDR3, respectively, with data products from a new large-scale run of the
StarHorse
spectrophotometric code. Our selection criteria yield ∼1600 stream members, including >200 VMP stars. We find the leading arm (
b
> 0°) of the Sgr stream to be more metal-poor, by ∼0.2 dex, than the trailing one (
b
< 0°). With a subsample of turnoff and subgiant stars, we estimate this substructure’s stellar population to be ∼1 Gyr older than the thick disk’s. With the aid of an
N
-body model of the Sgr system, we verify that simulated particles stripped earlier (>2 Gyr ago) have present-day phase-space properties similar to lower metallicity stream stars. Conversely, those stripped more recently (<2 Gyr) are preferentially akin to metal-rich (Fe/H > −1) members of the stream. Such correlation between kinematics and chemistry can be explained by the existence of a dynamically hotter, less centrally concentrated, and more metal-poor population in Sgr dSph prior to its disruption, implying that this galaxy was able to develop a metallicity gradient before its accretion. Finally, we identified several carbon-enhanced metal-poor (C/Fe > +0.7 and Fe/H ≤ −1.5) stars in the Sgr stream, which might be in tension with current observations of its remaining core where such objects are not found.
The first stars that formed after the Big Bang were probably massive, and they provided the Universe with the first elements heavier than helium ('metals'), which were incorporated into low-mass ...stars that have survived to the present. Eight stars in the oldest globular cluster in the Galaxy, NGC 6522, were found to have surface abundances consistent with the gas from which they formed being enriched by massive stars (that is, with higher α-element/Fe and Eu/Fe ratios than those of the Sun). However, the same stars have anomalously high abundances of Ba and La with respect to Fe, which usually arises through nucleosynthesis in low-mass stars (via the slow-neutron-capture process, or s-process). Recent theory suggests that metal-poor fast-rotating massive stars are able to boost the s-process yields by up to four orders of magnitude, which might provide a solution to this contradiction. Here we report a reanalysis of the earlier spectra, which reveals that Y and Sr are also overabundant with respect to Fe, showing a large scatter similar to that observed in extremely metal-poor stars, whereas C abundances are not enhanced. This pattern is best explained as originating in metal-poor fast-rotating massive stars, which might point to a common property of the first stellar generations and even of the 'first stars'.
Stellar rotation significantly shapes the evolution of massive stars, yet the interplay of mass and metallicity remains elusive, limiting our capacity to construct accurate stellar evolution models ...and to better estimate the impact of rotation on the chemical evolution of galaxies Our goal is to investigate how mass and metallicity influence the rotational evolution of A-type stars on the main sequence (MS). We seek to identify deviations in rotational behaviors that could serve as new constraints for existing stellar models Using the LAMOST Median-Resolution Survey Data Release 9, we derived stellar parameters for a population of 104,752 A-type stars. Our study focused on the evolution of surface rotational velocities and their dependence on mass and metallicity in 84,683 ``normal'' stars. Normalizing surface rotational velocities to zero age main sequence (ZAMS) values revealed a prevailing evolutionary profile from $1.7$ to $ msun $. This profile features an initial rapid acceleration until $t/ and potentially a second acceleration peak near $t/ for stars heavier than $ msun $, followed by a steady decline and a ``hook'' feature at the end. Surpassing theoretical expectations, the initial acceleration likely stems from a concentrated distribution of angular momentum at the ZAMS, resulting in a prolonged increase in speed. A transition phase for stars with $2.0<M/ emerged, a region where evolutionary tracks remain uncertain . Stellar expansion primarily drives the spin down in the latter half of the MS, accompanied by significant influence from inverse meridional circulation. The inverse circulation becomes more efficient at lower metallicities, explaining the correlation of the slope of this deceleration phase with metallicity from $ dex $ up to $ dex $. The metal-poor subsample ($ dex M/H dex $) starts with lower velocities at the ZAMS, suggesting that there is a metallicity-dependent mechanism that removes angular momentum during star formation. The proportion of fast rotators decreases with an increase in metallicity, up to $ -0.2$, a trend consistent with observations of OB-type stars found in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds.
ABSTRACT
We investigate the origin of the abundance ratios and scatter of the neutron-capture elements Sr, Ba, and Eu in the stellar halo of a Milky Way-mass galaxy formed in a hydrodynamical ...cosmological simulation, and compare them with those of α elements. For this, we implement a novel treatment for chemical enrichment of Type II supernovae that considers the effects of the rotation of massive stars on the chemical yields and differential enrichment according to the life-times of progenitor stars. We find that differential enrichment has a significant impact on the early enrichment of the interstellar medium which is translated into broader element ratio distributions, particularly in the case of the oldest, most metal-poor stars. We find that the element/Fe ratios of the α-elements O, Mg, and Si have systematically lower scatter compared to the neutron-capture elements ratios Sr, Ba, and Eu at Fe/H < −2, which is ∼0.1–0.4 dex for the former and between ∼0.5 and 1 dex for the latter. The different scatter levels found for the neutron-capture and α-elements is consistent with observations of old stars in the Milky Way. Our model also predicts a high scatter for the Sr/Ba ratio, which results from the treatment of the fast-rotating stars and the dependence of the chemical yields on the metallicity, mass, and rotational velocities. Such chemical patterns appear naturally if the different ejection times associated with stars of different mass are properly described, without the need to invoke for additional mixing mechanisms or a distinct treatment of the α- and neutron-capture elements.
Aims. The CEMP-no stars are “carbon-enhanced-metal-poor” stars that in principle show no evidence of s- and r-elements from neutron captures. We try to understand the origin and nucleosynthetic site ...of their peculiar CNO, Ne–Na, and Mg–Al abundances. Methods. We compare the observed abundances to the nucleosynthetic predictions of AGB models and of models of rotating massive stars with internal mixing and mass loss. We also analyze the different behaviors of α- and CNO-elements, as well the abundances of elements involved in the Ne–Na and Mg–Al cycles. Results. We show that CEMP-no stars exhibit products of He-burning that have gone through partial mixing and processing by the CNO cycle, producing low 12C/13C and a broad variety of C/N and O/N ratios. From a 12C/13C vs. C/N diagram, we conclude that neither the yields of AGB stars (in binaries or not) nor the yields of classic supernovae can fully account for the observed CNO abundances in CEMP-no stars. Better agreement is obtained once the chemical contribution by stellar winds of fast-rotating massive stars is taken into account, where partial mixing takes place, leading to various amounts of CNO being ejected. The (C+N+O)/H ratios of CEMP-no stars vary linearly with Fe/H above Fe/H = −4.0 indicating primary behavior by (C+N+O). Below Fe/H = −4.0, (C+N+O)/H is almost constant as a function of Fe/H, implying very high (C+N+O)/Fe ratios up to 4 dex. In view of the timescales, such abundance ratios reflect more individual nucleosynthetic properties, rather than an average chemical evolution. The high (C+N+O)/Fe ratios (as well as the high (C+N+O)/α-elements) imply that stellar winds from partially mixed stars were the main source of these excesses of heavy elements now observed in CEMP-no stars. The ranges covered by the variations of Na/Fe, Mg/Fe, and Al/Fe are much broader than for the α-elements (with an atomic mass number above 24) and are comparable to the wide ranges covered by the CNO elements. Nevertheless, the ratios Na/N and Mg/Al are about constant for CEMP-no stars of different Fe/H. This is consistent with the view that the Ne–Na and Mg–Al cycles were significantly operating in the source stars. The very different properties of CNO, Ne–Na, and Mg–Al elements from those of α-elements further support the idea that these elements (which all give to CEMP-no stars their peculiarities) originate in slow stellar winds of massive stars experiencing partial mixing. Conclusions. CEMP-no stars present a wide variety in the C/Fe, N/Fe, O/Fe, Na/Fe, Mg/Fe, Al/Fe, and Sr/Fe ratios. We show that back-and-forth, partial mixing between the He- and H-regions may account for this variety. Some s-elements, mainly of the first peak, may even be produced by these processes in a small fraction of the CEMP-no stars. We propose a classification scheme for the CEMP-no and low-s stars, based on the changes in composition produced by these successive back-and-forth mixing motions.