Binary Fractions of G and K Dwarf Stars Based on Gaia EDR3 and LAMOST DR5: Impacts of the Chemical Abundances

Based on the large volume Gaia Early Data Release 3 and LAMOST Data Release 5 data, we estimate the bias-corrected binary fractions of the field late G and early K dwarfs. A stellar locus outlier method is used in this work, which works well for binaries of various periods and inclination angles with single-epoch data. With a well-selected, distance-limited sample of about 90,000 GK dwarfs covering wide stellar chemical abundances, it enables us to explore the binary fraction variations with different stellar populations. The average binary fraction is 0.42 ± 0.01 for the whole sample. Thin-disk stars are found to have a binary fraction of 0.39 ± 0.02, thick-disk stars have a higher one of 0.49 ± 0.02, while inner halo stars possibly have the highest binary fraction. For both the thin- and thick-disk stars, the binary fractions decrease toward higher [Fe/H], [α/H], and [M/H] abundances. However, the suppressing impacts of [Fe/H], [α/H], and [M/H] are more significant for the thin-disk stars than those for the thick-disk stars. For a given [Fe/H], a positive correlation between [α/Fe] and the binary fraction is found for the thin-disk stars. However, this tendency disappears for the thick-disk stars. We suspect that it is likely related to the different formation histories of the thin and thick disks. Our results provide new clues for theoretical works on binary formation.

The mass of the Milky Way out to 100 kpc using halo stars

We use a distribution function analysis to estimate the mass of the Milky Way out to 100 kpc using a large sample of halo stars. These stars are compiled from the literature, and the vast majority ($\sim \! 98\%$) have 6D phase-space information. We pay particular attention to systematic effects, such as the dynamical influence of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and the effect of unrelaxed substructure. The LMC biases the (pre-LMC infall) halo mass estimates towards higher values, while realistic stellar halos from cosmological simulations tend to underestimate the true halo mass. After applying our method to the Milky Way data we find a mass within 100 kpc of M( < 100kpc) = 6.07 ± 0.29(stat.) ± 1.21(sys.) × 1011M⊙. For this estimate, we have approximately corrected for the reflex motion induced by the LMC using the Erkal et al. model, which assumes a rigid potential for the LMC and MW. Furthermore, stars that likely belong to the Sagittarius stream are removed, and we include a 5% systematic bias, and a 20% systematic uncertainty based on our tests with cosmological simulations. Assuming the mass-concentration relation for Navarro-Frenk-White haloes, our mass estimate favours a total (pre-LMC infall) Milky Way mass of M200c = 1.01 ± 0.24 × 1012M⊙, or (post-LMC infall) mass of M200c = 1.16 ± 0.24 × 1012 M⊙ when a 1.5 × 1011M⊙ mass of a rigid LMC is included.

The stochastic enrichment of Population II stars

ABSTRACT We investigate the intrinsic scatter in the chemical abundances of a sample of metal-poor ([Fe/H] < −2.5) Milky Way halo stars. We draw our sample from four historic surveys and focus our attention on the stellar Mg, Ca, Ni, and Fe abundances. Using these elements, we investigate the chemical enrichment of these metal-poor stars using a model of stochastic chemical enrichment. Assuming that these stars have been enriched by the first generation of massive metal-free stars, we consider the mass distribution of the enriching population alongside the stellar mixing and explosion energy of their supernovae. For our choice of stellar yields, our model suggests that the most metal-poor stars were enriched, on average, by $\hat{N}_{\star }=5^{+13}_{-3}~(1\sigma)$ Population III stars. This is comparable to the number of enriching stars inferred for the most metal-poor DLAs. Our analysis therefore suggests that some of the lowest mass structures at z ∼ 3 contain the chemical products from < 13(2σ) Population III enriched minihaloes. The inferred IMF is consistent with that of a Salpeter distribution and there is a preference towards ejecta from minimally mixed hypernovae. However, the estimated enrichment model is sensitive to small changes in the stellar sample. An offset of ∼ 0.1 dex in the [Mg/Ca] abundance is shown to be sensitive to the inferred number of enriching stars. We suggest that this method has the potential to constrain the multiplicity of the first generation of stars, but this will require: (1) a stellar sample whose systematic errors are well understood; and, (2) documented uncertainties associated with nucleosynthetic yields.

The messy merger of a large satellite and a Milky Way-like galaxy

Aims. About 10 billion years ago the Milky Way merged with a massive satellite, Gaia-Enceladus. To gain insight into the properties of its debris we analyse in detail a suite of simulations that includes an experiment that produces a good match to the kinematics of nearby halo stars inferred from Gaia data. Methods. We compare the kinematic distributions of stellar particles in the simulations and study the distribution of debris in orbital angular momentum, eccentricity, and energy, and its relation to the mass loss history of the simulated satellite. Results. We confirm that Gaia-Enceladus probably fell in on a retrograde, 30° inclination orbit. We find that while 75% of the debris in our preferred simulation has high eccentricity (> 0.8), roughly 9% has eccentricity lower than 0.6. Star particles lost early have large retrograde motions, and a subset of these have low eccentricity. Such stars would be expected to have lower metallicities as they stem from the outskirts of the satellite, and hence naively they could be confused with debris associated with a separate system. These considerations seem to apply to some of the stars from the postulated Sequoia galaxy. Conclusions. When a massive disc galaxy undergoes a merger event, it leaves behind debris with a complex phase-space structure, a wide range of orbital properties, and a range of chemical abundances. Observationally, this results in substructures with very different properties, which can be misinterpreted as implying independent progeny. Detailed chemical abundances of large samples of stars and tailored hydrodynamical simulations are critical to resolving such conundrums.

Kinematics of RR Lyrae stars in the Galactic bulge with OGLE-IV and Gaia DR2

ABSTRACT We analyse the kinematics and spatial distribution of 15 599 fundamental-mode RR Lyrae (RRL) stars in the Milky Way bulge by combining OGLE-IV photometric data and Gaia DR2 proper motions. We show that the longitudinal proper motions and the line-of-sight velocities can give similar results for the rotation in the Galactic central regions. The angular velocity of bulge RRLs is found to be around 35 km s−1 kpc−1, significantly smaller than that for the majority of bulge stars (50–60 km s−1 kpc−1); bulge RRLs have larger velocity dispersion (120–140 km s−1) than younger stars. The dependence of the kinematics of the bulge RRLs on their metallicities is shown by their rotation curves and spatial distributions. Metal-poor RRLs ([Fe/H]<−1) show a smaller bar angle than metal-rich ones. We also find clues suggesting that RRLs in the bulge are not dominated by halo stars. These results might explain some previous conflicting results over bulge RRLs and help understand the chemodynamical evolution of the Galactic bulge.