scholarly journals The chemical evolution of the Galactic thick and thin disks

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S254) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Chiappini

AbstractRecent data have revealed a clear distinction between the abundance patterns of the Milky Way (MW) thick and thin disks, suggesting a different origin for each of these components. In this work we first review the main ideas on the formation of the thin disk. From chemical evolution arguments we show that the thin disk should have formed on a long timescale. We also show clear signs that the local stellar samples are contaminated by stars coming from inner radii. We then check what would have to be changed in such a model in order to explain the observables in the thick disk. We find that a model in which the thick disk forms on a much shorter timescale than thin disk and with a star formation efficiency of around a factor of 10 larger than that in the thin disk can account for the observed abundance ratio shifts of several elements between thick and thin disk stars. Moreover, the lack of scatter in the abundance ratio patterns of both the thick and thin disks suggest both components to have been formed in situ by gas accretion and not by mergers of smaller stellar systems. Especially for the thick disk, this last constraint becomes a strong one if its metallicity distribution extends to, at least, solar. Finally, we briefly discuss the interplay between present deuterium abundance and present infall rates in connection with the thin disk evolution.

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Haywood ◽  
Paola Di Matteo ◽  
Matthew Lehnert ◽  
Owain Snaith ◽  
Francesca Fragkoudi ◽  
...  

We show that the bulge and the disk of the Milky Way (MW) at R ≲ 7 kpc are well described by a unique chemical evolution and a two-phase star formation history (SFH). We argue that the populations within this inner disk, not the entire disk, are the same, and that the outer Lindblad resonance (OLR) of the bar plays a key role in explaining this uniformity. In our model of a two-phase SFH, the metallicity, [α/Fe] and [α/H] distributions, and age-metallicity relation are all compatible with the observations of both the inner disk and bulge. The dip at [Fe/H] ∼ 0 dex seen in the metallicity distributions of the bulge and inner disk reflects the quenching episode in the SFH of the inner MW at age ∼8 Gyr, and the common evolution of the bulge and inner disk stars. Our results for the inner region of the MW, R ≲ 7 kpc, are consistent with a rapid build-up of a large fraction of its total baryonic mass within a few billion years. We show that at z ≤ 1.5, when the MW was starting to quench, transitioning between the end of the α-enhanced thick disk formation to the start of the thin disk, and yet was still gas rich, the gas accretion rate could not have been significant. The [α/Fe] abundance ratio before and after this quenching phase would be different, which is not observed. The decrease in the accretion rate and gas fraction at z ≤ 2 was necessary to stabilize the disk allowing the transition from thick to thin disks, and for beginning the secular phase of the MW’s evolution. This possibly permitted a stellar bar to develop which we hypothesize is responsible for quenching the star formation. The present analysis suggests that MW history, and in particular at the transition from the thick to the thin disk – the epoch of the quenching – must have been driven by a decrease of the star formation efficiency. We argue that the decline in the intensity of gas accretion, the formation of the bar, and the quenching of the star formation rate (SFR) at the same epoch may be causally connected thus explaining their temporal coincidence. Assuming that about 20% of the gas reservoir in which metals are diluted is molecular, we show that our model is well positioned on the Schmidt-Kennicutt relation at all times.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (S330) ◽  
pp. 263-264
Author(s):  
Alessandro Spagna ◽  
Anna Curir ◽  
Marco Giammaria ◽  
Mario G. Lattanzi ◽  
Giuseppe Murante ◽  
...  

AbstractWe have investigated the chemo-dynamical evolution of a Milky Way-like disk galaxy, AqC4, produced by a cosmological simulation integrating a sub-resolution ISM model. We evidence a global inside-out and upside-down disk evolution, that is consistent with a scenario where the “thin disk” stars are formed from the accreted gas close to the galactic plane, while the older “thick disk” stars are originated in situ at higher heights. Also, the bar appears the most effective heating mechanism in the inner disk. Finally, no significant metallicity-rotation correlation has been observed, in spite of the presence of a negative [Fe/H] radial gradient.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (S330) ◽  
pp. 156-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Delgado Mena ◽  
M. Tsantaki ◽  
V. Zh. Adibekyan ◽  
S. G. Sousa ◽  
N. C. Santos ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this work we present chemical abundances of heavy elements (Z>28) for a homogeneous sample of 1059 stars from HARPS planet search program. We also derive ages using parallaxes from Hipparcos and Gaia DR1 to compare the results. We study the [X/Fe] ratios for different populations and compare them with models of Galactic chemical evolution. We find that thick disk stars are chemically disjunt for Zn adn Eu. Moreover, the high-alpha metal-rich population presents an interesting behaviour, with clear overabundances of Cu and Zn and lower abundances of Y and Ba with respect to thin disk stars. Several abundance ratios present a significant correlation with age for chemically separated thin disk stars (regardless of their metallicity) but thick disk stars do not present that behaviour. Moreover, at supersolar metallicities the trends with age tend to be weaker for several elements.


Author(s):  
Francesca Matteucci

AbstractIn this review, I will discuss the comparison between model results and observational data for the Milky Way, the predictive power of such models as well as their limits. Such a comparison, known as Galactic archaeology, allows us to impose constraints on stellar nucleosynthesis and timescales of formation of the various Galactic components (halo, bulge, thick disk and thin disk).


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S334) ◽  
pp. 132-135
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kawata

AbstractUsing N-body simulations of the Galactic disks, we qualitatively study how the metallicity distributions of the thick and thin disk stars are modified by radial mixing induced by the bar and spiral arms. We show that radial mixing drives a positive vertical metallicity gradient in the mono-age disk population whose initial scale-height is constant and initial radial metallicity gradient is tight and negative. On the other hand, if the initial disk is flaring, with scale-height increasing with galactocentric radius, radial mixing leads to a negative vertical metallicity gradient, which is consistent with the current observed trend. We also discuss impacts of radial mixing on the metallicity distribution of the thick disk stars. By matching the metallicity distribution of N-body models to the SDSS/APOGEE data, we argue that the progenitor of the Milky Way’s thick disk should not have a steep negative metallicity gradient.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S298) ◽  
pp. 419-420
Author(s):  
Ji Li ◽  
Ruijuan Fu

AbstractThe abundance ratio [α/Fe] is a useful tracer to probe the history of star formation and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. We present a statistical analysis of [α/Fe] in 953 dwarf stars to investigate the distributions of [α/Fe] in the the thin- and thick-disk stars.


2010 ◽  
Vol 718 (1) ◽  
pp. 314-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro Villalobos ◽  
Stelios Kazantzidis ◽  
Amina Helmi
Keyword(s):  

2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. A164 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Vollmer ◽  
M. Schartmann ◽  
L. Burtscher ◽  
F. Marin ◽  
S. Hönig ◽  
...  

Infrared high-resolution imaging and interferometry show that the dust distribution is frequently elongated along the polar direction of an AGN. In addition, interferometric mm line observations have revealed a bipolar outflow in a direction nearly perpendicular to the nuclear disk. To explain these findings, we developed a model scenario for the inner ~30 pc of an AGN. The structure of the gas within this region is entirely determined by the gas inflow from larger scales. We assumed a rotating thick gas disk between about one and ten parsec. External gas accretion adds mass and injects energy via gas compression into this gas disk and drives turbulence. We extended the description of a massive turbulent thick gas disk developed in a recent paper by adding a magnetocentrifugal wind. Our disks are assumed to be strongly magnetized via equipartition between the turbulent gas pressure and the energy density of the magnetic field. In a second step, we built 3D density cubes based on the analytical model, illuminated them with a central source, and made radiative transfer calculations. In a third step, we calculated mid-infrared (MIR) visibility amplitudes and compared them to available interferometric observations. We show that magnetocentrifugal winds starting from a thin and thick gas disk are viable in active galaxy centers. The magnetic field associated with this thick gas disk plays a major role in driving a magnetocentrifugal wind at a distance of ~1 pc from the central black hole. Once the wind is launched, it is responsible for the transport of angular momentum and the gas disk can become thin. A magnetocentrifugal wind is also expected above the thin magnetized gas disk. The structure and outflow rate of this wind is determined by the properties of the thick gas disk. The outflow scenario can account for the elongated dust structures, outer edges of the thin maser disks, and molecular outflows observed in local AGN. The models reproduce the observed terminal wind velocities, the scatter of the MIR – intrinsic X-ray correlation, and point source fractions. An application of the model to the Circinus galaxy and NGC 1068 shows that the infrared spectral energy distribution, available MIR interferometric observations, and optical polarization can be reproduced in a satisfactory way, provided that (i) a puff-up at the inner edge of the thin disk is present and (ii) a local screen with an optical depth of τV ~ 20 in form of a local gas filament and/or a warp of the thick disk hide a significant fraction of both nuclei. Our thick disk, wind, thin disk model is thus a promising scenario for local Seyfert galaxies.


2012 ◽  
pp. 35-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Caimmi

Simple multistage closed-(box+reservoir) (MCBR) models of chemical evolution, formulated in an earlier attempt, are extended to the limit of dominant gas inflow or outflow with respect to gas locked up into long-lived stars and remnants. For an assigned empirical differential oxygen abundance distribution (EDOD), which can be linearly fitted, a family of theoretical differential oxygen abundance distribution (TDOD) curves is built up with the following prescriptions: (i) the initial and the ending points of the linear fit are common to all curves; (ii) the flow parameter k ranges from an extremum point to ? ?, where negative and positive k correspond to inflow and outflow, respectively; (iii) the cut parameter ?O ranges from an extremum point (which cannot be negative) to the limit (?O) ? related to |k|? + ?. For curves with increasing ?O, the gas mass fraction locked up into long-lived stars and remnants is found to attain a maximum and then decrease towards zero as |k|? + ? while the remaining parameters show a monotonic trend. The theoretical integral oxygen abundance distribution (TIOD) is also expressed. An application is made to the EDOD deduced from two different samples of disk stars, for both the thin and the thick disk. The constraints on formation and evolution are discussed in the light of the model. The evolution is tentatively subdivided into four stages, namely: assembling (A), formation (F), contraction (C), equilibrium (E). The EDOD related to any stage is fitted by all curves where 0 ? ?O ? (?O) ? for inflowing gas and (?O) ? ? ?O ? 1.2 for outflowing gas, with a single exception related to the thin disk (A stage), where the range of fitting curves is restricted to 0.35 ? ?O ? (?O) ?. The F stage may safely be described by a steady inflow regime (k= -1), implying a flat TDOD, in agreement with the results of hydrodynamical simulations. Finally, (1) the change of fractional mass due to the extension of the linear fit to the EDOD, towards both the (undetected) low-metallicity and high-metallicity tail, is evaluated and (2) the idea of a thick disk - thin disk collapse is discussed, in the light of the model.


2013 ◽  
Vol 804 ◽  
pp. 347-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teik Cheng Lim

Auxetic materials are those that exhibit negative Poissons ratio. In spite of their rarity, auxetic materials have been artificially produced and also found to exist are known to exist naturally. Arising from their anomalous behavior, research on auxetic materials has been carried out for possible applications in fields as diverse as biomechanics and aero-structures. This paper investigates the effect of auxeticity on the maximum stress in thin and thick rotating disks. The obtained results show that maximum stresses are lower in rotating thin disks that are made from negative Poissons ratio materials. It is also revealed that the maximum stresses in thick rotating disks can be reasonably approximated by rotating thin disk theory if the thick disk material possesses negative Poissons ratio.


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