Metal-poor stars play an import role in the understanding of Galaxy formation and evolution. Evidence of the early mergers that built up the Galaxy might remain in the distributions of abundances, kinematics, and orbital parameters of the stars. In this work, we report on preliminary results of an on-going chemo-kinematic analysis of a sample of metal-poor ([Fe/H] $\leq$ -1.0) stars observed by the GALAH spectroscopic survey. We explored the chemical and orbital data with unsupervised machine learning (hierarchical clustering, k-means cluster analysis and correlation matrices). Our final goal is to find an optimal way to separate different Galactic stellar populations and stellar groups originating from merging events, such as Gaia-Enceladus and Sequoia.
In this work we combine information from solar-like oscillations, high-resolution spectroscopy and Gaia astrometry to derive stellar ages, chemical abundances and kinematics for a group of seven metal-poor Red Giants and characterise them in a multidimensional chrono-chemo-dynamical space. Chemical abundance ratios were derived through classical spectroscopic analysis employing 1D LTE atmospheres on Keck/HIRES spectra. Stellar ages, masses and radii were calculated with grid-based modelling, taking advantage of availability of asteroseismic information from Kepler. The dynamical properties wer…
The characteristics of the stellar populations in the Galactic Bulge inform and constrain the Milky Way's formation and evolution. The metal-poor population is particularly important in light of cosmological simulations, which predict that some of the oldest stars in the Galaxy now reside in its center. The metal-poor bulge appears to consist of multiple stellar populations that require dynamical analyses to disentangle. In this work, we undertake a detailed chemodynamical study of the metal-poor stars in the inner Galaxy. Using R$\sim$ 20,000 VLT/GIRAFFE spectra of 319 metal-poor (-2.55 dex$\…
We obtain estimates of stellar atmospheric parameters for a previously published sample of 1777 relatively bright (9 < B < 14) metal-poor candidates from the Hamburg/ESO Survey. The original Frebel et al. analysis of these stars was only able to derive estimates of [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] for a subset of the sample, due to limitations in the methodology then available. A new spectroscopic analysis pipeline has been used to obtain estimates of Teff, log g, [Fe/H], and [C/Fe] for almost the entire dataset. This sample is very local - about 90% of the stars are located within 0.5 kpc of the Sun. We con…
The Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) V: a chemo-dynamical investigation of the early assembly of the Milky Way with the most metal-poor stars in the bulge
High-resolution optical spectra of 30 metal-poor stars selected from the \Pristine\ survey are presented, based on observations taken with the Gemini Observatory GRACES spectrograph. Stellar parameters \teff and \logg are determined using a Gaia DR2 colour-temperature calibration and surface gravity from the Stefan-Boltzmann equation. GRACES spectra are used to determine chemical abundances (or upper-limits) for 20 elements (Li, O, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Ti, Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Nd, Eu). These stars are confirmed to be metal-poor ([Fe/H]$<-2.5$), with higher precision than from e…
Unsupervised Chemo-Dynamical Dissection of the Inner Galactic Halo: Discovery of Five Accreted Substructures with SDSS-V and Gaia
Institute of Graduate Studies in Science, Istanbul University(伊斯坦布尔大学研究生科学学院);Faculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences, Istanbul University(伊斯坦布尔大学理学院天文与空间科学系)
In this work, we study the chemical compositions and kinematic properties of six metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] $< -2.5$ in the Galactic halo. From high-resolution (R $\sim$~110,000) spectroscopic observations obtained with the Lick/APF, we determined individual abundances for up to 23 elements, to quantitatively evaluate our sample. We identify two carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars (J1630+0953 and J2216+0246) without enhancement in neutron-capture elements (CEMP-no stars), while the rest of our sample stars are carbon-intermediate. By comparing the light-element abundances of the CEMP stars with…
We present the first self-consistent chemodynamical model fitted to reproduce data for the galactic bulge, bar and inner disk. We extend the Made-to-Measure method to an augmented phase-space including the metallicity of stars, and show its first application to the bar region of the Milky Way. Using data from the ARGOS and APOGEE (DR12) surveys, we adapt the recent dynamical model from Portail et al. to reproduce the observed spatial and kinematic variations as a function of metallicity, thus allowing the detailed study of the 3D density distributions, kinematics and orbital structure of stars…
A 3D Chemodynamical Census of Inner-Galaxy Metal-poor Giants to [Fe/H]~-3.5
Peking University(北京大学);Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University(北京大学科维理天文与天体物理研究所);University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学);National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院国家天文台);Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University(北京师范大学前沿天文与天体物理研究所);University of Notre Dame(圣母大学);Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics – Center for the Evolution of the Elements (JINA-CEE)(核天体物理联合研究所——元素演化中心);Shanghai Jiao Tong University(上海交通大学)
Recently, an increasing number of wide binaries has been discovered. Their chemical and dynamical properties are studied through extensive surveys and pointed observations. However, the formation of these wide binaries is far from clear, although several scenarios have been suggested. In order to investigate the chemical compositions of these systems, we analysed high-resolution spectroscopy of three wide binary pairs belonging to the Galactic halo. In total, another three candidates from our original sample of 11 candidates observed at various resolutions with various instruments were refuted…
The heaviest iron-peak element, Zn has been used as an important tracer of cosmic chemical evolution. Spectroscopic observations of the metal-poor stars in Local Group galaxies show that an increasing trend of [Zn/Fe] ratios toward lower metallicity. However, enrichment of Zn in galaxies is not well understood due to the poor knowledge of astrophysical sites of Zn as well as metal mixing in galaxies. Here we show possible explanations for the observed trend by taking into account electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) as one of the sources of Zn in our chemodynamical simulations of dwarf galaxies…
There is a long-standing debate on the origin of the metal-poor stellar populations of the Milky Way (MW) bulge, with the two leading scenarios being that these populations are either i) part of a classical metal-poor spheroid or ii) the same population as the chemically defined thick disc seen at the Solar neighbourhood. Here we test whether the latter scenario can reproduce the observed chemical properties of the MW bulge. To do so we compare an N-body simulation of a composite (thin+thick) stellar disc -- which evolves secularly to form a bar and a boxy/peanut (b/p) bulge -- to data from AP…
We combine the estimated metallicities [Fe/H], abundances [α/Fe], positions and motions of a sample of 27,500 local (7<R/kpc<9, 0.5<|z|/kpc<2.5) SDSS/SEGUE G-type dwarf stars to investigate the chemo-orbital properties of the Milky Way's disk around the Sun. When we derive the orbital properties reflecting angular momentum, circularity, and thickness as function of [α/Fe] vs. [Fe/H], we find that there is a smooth variation with [α/Fe], a proxy for age. At the same time, the orbital properties of the old stars with [α/Fe]$\gtrsim$0.25 do show a transition with [Fe/H]: below [Fe/H]$\simeq$-0.6 …
Chemo-dynamical Analysis of a CNO-Enhanced Ultra Metal-poor Star ($\rm[Fe/H] < -4$): Insights into Early Enrichment by Faint Population III Supernova
University of Chicago(芝加哥大学);NSF NOIRLab(美国国家光学-红外天文研究实验室);University of North Texas(北德克萨斯大学);Universitat de Barcelona(巴塞罗那大学);Massachusetts Institute of Technology(麻省理工学院)
The chemodynamical signature of coherent metal-poor inflow and enriched recycled accretion in the cool circumgalactic medium
Swinburne University of Technology(斯威本科技大学);The University of Oklahoma(俄克拉荷马大学);The Pennsylvania State University(宾夕法尼亚州立大学);New Mexico State University(新墨西哥州立大学)
A chemo-dynamical analysis of 115 metal-poor candidate stars selected from the narrow-band Pristine photometric survey is presented based on CFHT high-resolution ESPaDoNS spectroscopy. We have discover 28 new bright (V < 15) stars with [Fe/H]<-2.5 and 5 with [Fe/H]<-3.0 for success rates of 40% (28/70) and 19% (5/27), respectively. A detailed model atmospheres analysis is carried out for the 28 new metal-poor stars. Stellar parameters were determined from SDSS photometric colours, Gaia DR2 parallaxes, MESA/MIST stellar isochrones, and the initial Pristine survey metallicities, following a Baye…
We present a Bayesian method to identify multiple (chemodynamic) stellar populations in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) using velocity, metallicity, and positional stellar data without the assumption of spherical symmetry. We apply this method to a new Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of the Ursa Minor (UMi) dSph. We identify 892 likely members, making this the largest UMi sample with line-of-sight velocity and metallicity measurements. Our Bayesian method detects two distinct chemodynamic populations with high significance ($\ln{B}\sim33$). The metal-rich ($[{\rm Fe/H}]=-2.05\pm0.03$) popul…
We use the SDSS/SEGUE spectroscopic sample of stars in the leading and trailing streams of the Sagittarius (Sgr) to demonstrate the existence of two sub-populations with distinct chemistry and kinematics. The metallicity distribution function (MDF) of the trailing stream is decomposed into two Gaussians describing a metal-rich sub-population with means and dispersions (-0.74, 0.18) dex and a metal-poor with (-1.33, 0.27) dex. The metal-rich sub-population has a velocity dispersion ~ 8 km/s, whilst the metal-poor is nearly twice as hot ~13 km/s. For the leading stream, the MDF is again well-des…
The Blanco DECam Bulge Survey (BDBS) VIII: Chemo-kinematics in the southern Galactic bulge from 2.3 million red clump stars with Gaia DR3 proper motions
We present a new discrete chemo-dynamical axisymmetric modeling technique, which we apply to the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Sculptor. The major improvement over previous Jeans models is that realistic chemical distributions are included directly in the dynamical modelling of the discrete data. This avoids loss of information due to spatial binning and eliminates the need for hard cuts to remove contaminants and to separate stars based on their chemical properties. Using a combined likelihood in position, metallicity and kinematics, we find that our models naturally separate Sculptor stars into a …
A few dozen dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way have been discovered, which are often viewed as the remaining building blocks of our Galaxy. The follow-up spectroscopy showed that dwarf galaxies have a sizeable spread in their metallicities. Several scenarios were suggested to explain the metallicity spread, which can be tested by the structural patterns of stellar subpopulations with distinct metallicities. However, such chemical plus structural examination, to which we refer to as "chemostructural study" is hindered by the lack of stars with spectroscopic metallicity. Here we propose t…
The abundance of elements synthesized by the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process elements) of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars in the Local Group galaxies gives us clues to clarify the early evolutionary history of the Milky Way halo. The Local Group dwarf galaxies would have similarly evolved with building blocks of the Milky Way halo. However, how the chemo-dynamical evolution of the building blocks affects the abundance of r-process elements is not yet clear. In this paper, we perform a series of simulations using dwarf galaxy models with various dynamical times and total mass, which d…
Orbital characteristics based on Gaia Early Data Release 3 astrometric parameters are analyzed for ${\sim} 1700$ $r$-process-enhanced (RPE; [Eu/Fe] $> +0.3$) metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] $\leq -0.8$) compiled from the $R$-Process Alliance, the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) DR3 survey, and additional literature sources. We find dynamical clusters of these stars based on their orbital energies and cylindrical actions using the \HDBSCAN ~unsupervised learning algorithm. We identify $36$ Chemo-Dynamically Tagged Groups (CDTGs) containing between $5$ and $22$ members; $17$ CDTGs have at leas…
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 -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 low-metallicity, kinematically interesting dwarf stars studied by Stephens \& Boesgaard (2002, SB02) are re-examined using Gaia DR2 astrometry, and updated model atmospheres and atomic line data. New stellar parameters are determined based on the Gaia DR2 parallactic distances and Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Database isochrones. These are in excellent agreement with spectroscopically determined stellar parameters for stars with [Fe/H]$>-2$; however, large disagreements are found for stars with [Fe/H]$\le-2$, with offsets as large as $Δ$T$_{\rm eff}\sim+500$ K and $Δ$log\,$g\sim+1.0$. A sub…
We report new spectroscopic observations obtained with the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System of 308 red giants (RGs) located in two fields near the photometric center of the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud. This sample consists of 131 stars observed in previous studies (in one field) and 177 newly-observed stars (in the second field) selected specifically to more reliably establish the metallicity and age distributions of the bar. For each star, we measure its heliocentric line-of-sight velocity, surface gravity and metallicity from its high-resolution spectrum (effective temperatures come from…
We present a chemo-dynamical analysis of low-resolution ($R \sim 1300$) spectroscopy of stars from the AAOmega Evolution of Galactic Structure (AEGIS) survey, focusing on two key populations of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars within the disk system of the Milky Way: a mildly prograde population ($L_z < 1000\,$kpc$\,$km$\,$s$^{-1}$) and a strongly prograde ($L_z > 1000\,$kpc$\,$km$\,$s$^{-1}$) population. Based on their chemical and kinematic characteristics, and on comparisons with similar populations found in the recent literature, we tentatively associate the former with an ex-situ i…
We analysed the chemodynamical evolution of the Galactic disc using precise [Mg/Fe] abundances from a previous study and accurate Gaia data. For this purpose, we estimated ages and dynamical properties for 366 MSTO solar neighbourhood stars from the AMBRE Project using PARSEC isochrones together with astrometric and photometric values from Gaia DR2. We find a radial gradient of -0.099 ${\pm}$ 0.031 dex kpc$^{-1}$ for [M/H] and +0.023 ${\pm}$ 0.009 dex kpc for the [Mg/Fe] abundance. The steeper [Mg/Fe] gradient than that found in the literature is a result of the improvement of the AMBRE [Mg/Fe…
In order to minimize environmental effects and gain an insight into the internal mechanisms that shape the properties of the early-type dwarf systems, we study one of the few isolated dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) of the Local Group (LG): Cetus. We obtained VLT/FORS2 spectra ($R\sim2600$) in the region of the nIR CaII triplet lines for 80 candidate red giant branch stars. The analysis yielded line-of-sight velocities and metallicities ([Fe/H]) for 54 bona fide member stars. The kinematic analysis shows that Cetus is a mainly pressure-supported ($σ_v = 11.0_{-1.3}^{+1.6}$ km/s), dark-matter…
The entire evolution of the Milky Way, including its mass-assembly and star-formation history, is imprinted onto the chemo-dynamical distribution function of its member stars, f(x, v, [X/H]), in the multi-dimensional phase space spanned by position, velocity, and elemental abundance ratios. In particular, the chemo-dynamical distribution functions for low-mass stars (e.g., G- or K-type dwarfs) are precious tracers of the earliest stages of the Milky Way's formation, since their main-sequence lifetimes approach or exceed the age of the universe. A basic tenet of essentially all previous analyse…
The Milky Way stellar halo contains relics of ancient mergers that tell the story of our Galaxy's formation. Some of them are identified due to their similarity in energy, actions and chemistry, referred to as the "chemodynamical space", and are often attributed to distinct merger events. It is also known that our Galaxy went through a significant merger event that shaped the local stellar halo during its first Gyr. Previous studies using $N$-body only and cosmological hydrodynamical simulations have shown that such single massive merger can produce several "signatures" in the chemodynamical s…
The latest edition of the APOGEE-2/DR14 survey catalogue and the first \texttt{Payne} data release of APOGEE abundance determinations by Ting et al. are examined. We identify 31 previously unremarked metal-poor giant stars with anomalously high levels of nitrogen in the chemical space defined by [Fe/H] and [N/Fe]. The APOGEE chemical abundance patterns of such objects revealed that these are chemically distinct from the Milky Way (MW) in most chemical elements. We have found all these objects have a [N/Fe]$>+0.5$, and are thus identified here as nitrogen-rich stars. An orbital analysis of thes…
Chemodynamic evidence of pristine gas accretion in the void galaxy VGS 12
Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg(海德堡大学天文学计算研究所);Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences(俄罗斯科学院特别天文台);Lomonosov Moscow State University, Sternberg Astronomical Institute(莫斯科罗蒙诺索夫国立大学斯登伯格天文研究所);Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México(墨西哥国立自治大学天文研究所);Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen(格罗宁根大学卡普坦天文研究所);Department of Astronomy, Columbia University(哥伦比亚大学天文学系)
Chemo-dynamical N-body simulations are an essential tool for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. As the number of observationally determined stellar abundances continues to climb, these simulations are able to provide new constraints on the early star formaton history and chemical evolution inside both the Milky Way and Local Group dwarf galaxies. Here, we aim to reproduce the low $α$-element scatter observed in metal-poor stars. We first demonstrate that as stellar particles inside simulations drop below a mass threshold, increases in the resolution produce an unacceptably …
The rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) is a major process to synthesize elements heavier than iron, but the astrophysical site(s) of r-process is not identified yet. Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are suggested to be a major r-process site from nucleosynthesis studies. Previous chemical evolution studies however require unlikely short merger time of NSMs to reproduce the observed large star-to-star scatters in the abundance ratios of r-process elements relative to iron, [Eu/Fe], of extremely metal-poor stars in the Milky Way (MW) halo. This problem can be solved by considering chemical evo…
Chemistry and kinematic studies can determine the origins of stellar population across the Milky Way. The metallicity distribution function of the bulge indicates that it comprises multiple populations, the more metal-poor end of which is particularly poorly understood. It is currently unknown if metal-poor bulge stars ([Fe/H] $<$ -1 dex) are part of the stellar halo in the inner most region, or a distinct bulge population or a combination of these. Cosmological simulations also indicate that the metal-poor bulge stars may be the oldest stars in the Galaxy. In this study, we successfully targe…
Evaluating Classifications of Extremely Metal-poor Candidates Selected from Gaia XP Spectra
Monash University(莫纳什大学);Flatiron Institute(平顿研究所);University of Chicago(芝加哥大学);Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian(哈佛-史密森天体物理中心);Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie(马克斯·普朗克天文研究所)
The chemodynamical memory of a major merger in a NIHAO-UHD Milky Way analogue -- I. A golden thread through time and space
Australian National University(澳大利亚国立大学);Universität Heidelberg(海德堡大学);Universitá degli Studi di Firenze(佛罗伦萨大学);The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science(卡内基科学研究所天文台);Northwestern University(西北大学);New Mexico State University(新墨西哥州立大学);University of Cambridge(剑桥大学)
Using Gaia DR2, we trace the Anticenter Stream (ACS) in various stellar populations across the sky and find that it is kinematically and spatially decoupled from the Monoceros Ring. Using stars from {\sc lamost} and {\sc segue}, we show that the ACS is systematically more metal-poor than Monoceros by $0.1$ dex with indications of a narrower metallicity spread. Furthermore, the ACS is predominantly populated of old stars ($\sim 10\,\rm{Gyr}$), whereas Monoceros has a pronounced tail of younger stars ($6-10\, \rm{Gyr}$) as revealed by their cumulative age distributions. Put togehter, all of this…
This study presents a comprehensive chemo-dynamical analysis of LAMOST J1109+0754, a bright (V = 12.8), extremely metal-poor (\abund{Fe}{H} = $-3.17$) star, with a strong \textit{r}-process enhancement (\abund{Eu}{Fe} = +0.94 $\pm$ 0.12). Our results are based on the 7-D measurements supplied by $Gaia$ and the chemical composition derived from a high-resolution ($R\sim 110,000$), high signal-to-noise ratio ($S/N \sim 60)$ optical spectrum obtained by the 2.4\,m Automated Planet Finder Telescope at Lick Observatory. We obtain chemical abundances of 31 elements (from lithium to thorium). The abu…
We derive dynamical parameters for a large sample of 446 $r$-process-enhanced (RPE) metal-poor stars in the halo and disk systems of the Milky Way, based on data releases from the $R$-Process Alliance, supplemented by additional literature samples. This sample represents more than a ten-fold increase in size relative to that previously considered by Roederer et al., and, by design, covers a larger range of $r$-process-element enrichment levels. We test a number of clustering analysis methods on the derived orbital energies and other dynamical parameters for this sample, ultimately deciding on …
Stellar kinematics and metallicity are key to exploring formation scenarios for galactic disks and halos. In this work, we characterized the relationship between kinematics and photometric metallicity along the line-of-sight to M31's disk. We combined optical HST/ACS photometry from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey with Keck/DEIMOS spectra from the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) survey. The resulting sample of 3512 individual red giant branch stars spans 4-19 projected kpc, making it a useful probe of both the disk and inner…
The chemo-dynamical complexity of ω Centauri: different kinematics for different populations
Université de Strasbourg(斯特拉斯堡大学);Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg(斯特拉斯堡天文台);Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES)(法国国家空间研究中心);LIRA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CY Cergy Paris Université(巴黎天文台LIRA实验室,巴黎文理研究大学,索邦大学,巴黎西岱大学,CY塞吉-蓬图瓦兹大学);Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Galileo Galilei”, Università di Padova(帕多瓦大学伽利略·伽利莱物理与天文学系);Dipartimento di Tecnica e Gestione dei Sistemi Industriali, Università degli Studi di Padova(帕多瓦大学工业系统技术与管理系);Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica – Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova(意大利国家天体物理研究所帕多瓦天文台)
Dissecting the 3D chemo-dynamical structures of NGC~1381: A galaxy hosting an ancient slow bar with an accretion-related bulge and thick disc
Westlake University(西湖大学);Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院上海天文台);Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University(利物浦约翰摩尔斯大学天体物理研究所);Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias(加那利天体物理学研究所);Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna(拉帕尔马大学天体物理学系);Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna(维也纳大学天体物理学系)