Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    The AMBRE Project: [Y/Mg] stellar dating calibration with Gaia
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2019) Titarenko, A.; Recio-Blanco, A.; de Laverny, P.; Hayden, M.; Guiglion, G.
    Chemical abundance dating methods open new paths for temporal evolution studies of the Milky Way stellar populations. In this paper, we use a high spectral resolution database of turn-off stars in the solar neighbourhood to study the age dependence of the [Y/Mg] chemical abundance ratio. Our analysis reveals a clear correlation between [Y/Mg] and age for thin disc stars of different metallicities, in synergy with previous studies of solar-type stars. In addition, no metallicity dependence with stellar age is detected, allowing us to use the [Y/Mg] ratio as a reliable age proxy. Finally, the [Y/Mg]-age relation presents a discontinuity between thin and thick disc stars around 9-10 Gyr. For thick disc stars, the correlation has a different zero point and probably a steeper trend with age, reflecting the different chemical evolution histories of the two disc components.
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    The AMBRE Project: r-process elements in the Milky Way thin and thick discs
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2018) Guiglion, G.; de Laverny, P.; Recio-Blanco, A.; Prantzos, N.
    Context. The chemical evolution of neutron capture elements in the Milky Way disc is still a matter of debate. There is a lack of statistically significant catalogues of such element abundances, especially those of the r-process. Aims. We aim to understand the chemical evolution of r-process elements in Milky Way disc. We focus on three pure r-process elements Eu, Gd, and Dy. We also consider a pure s-process element, Ba, in order to disentangle the different nucleosynthesis processes. Methods. We take advantage of high-resolution FEROS, HARPS, and UVES spectra from the ESO archive in order to perform a homogeneous analysis on 6500 FGK Milky Way stars. The chemical analysis is performed thanks to the automatic optimization pipeline GAUGUIN. We present abundances of Ba (5057 stars), Eu (6268 stars), Gd (5431 stars), and Dy (5479 stars). Based on the [α/Fe] ratio determined previously by the AMBRE Project, we chemically characterize the thin and the thick discs, and a metal-rich α-rich population. Results. First, we find that the [Eu/Fe] ratio follows a continuous sequence from the thin disc to the thick disc as a function of the metallicity. Second, in thick disc stars, the [Eu/Ba] ratio is found to be constant, while the [Gd/Ba] and [Dy/Ba] ratios decrease as a function of the metallicity. These observations clearly indicate a different nucleosynthesis history in the thick disc between Eu and Gd-Dy. The [r/Fe] ratio in the thin disc is roughly around +0.1 dex at solar metallicity, which is not the case for Ba. We also find that the α-rich metal-rich stars are also enriched in r-process elements (like thick disc stars), but their [Ba/Fe] is very different from thick disc stars. Finally, we find that the [r/α] ratio tends to decrease with metallicity, indicating that supernovae of different properties probably contribute differently to the synthesis of r-process elements and α-elements. Conclusions. We provide average abundance trends for [Ba/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] with rather small dispersions, and for the first time for [Gd/Fe] and [Dy/Fe]. This data may help to constrain chemical evolution models of Milky Way r- and s-process elements and the yields of massive stars. We emphasize that including yields of neutron-star or black hole mergers is now crucial if we want to quantitatively compare observations to Galactic chemical evolution models.
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    Cool stars in the Galactic center as seen by APOGEE : M giants, AGB stars, and supergiant stars and candidates
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2020) Schultheis, M.; Rojas-Arriagada, A.; Cunha, K.; Zoccali, M.; Chiappini, C.; Zasowski, G.; Queiroz, A.B.A.; Minniti, D.; Fritz, T.; García-Hernández, D.A.; Nitschelm, C.; Zamora, O.; Hasselquist, S.; Fernández-Trincado, J.G.; Munoz, R.R.
    The Galactic center region, including the nuclear disk, has until recently been largely avoided in chemical census studies because of extreme extinction and stellar crowding. Large, near-IR spectroscopic surveys, such as the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), allow the measurement of metallicities in the inner region of our Galaxy. Making use of the latest APOGEE data release (DR16), we are able for the first time to study cool Asymptotic Giant branch (AGB) stars and supergiants in this region. The stellar parameters of five known AGB stars and one supergiant star (VR 5-7) show that their location is well above the tip of the red giant branch. We studied metallicities of 157 M giants situated within 150 pc of the Galactic center from observations obtained by the APOGEE survey with reliable stellar parameters from the APOGEE pipeline making use of the cool star grid down to 3200 K. Distances, interstellar extinction values, and radial velocities were checked to confirm that these stars are indeed situated in the Galactic center region. We detect a clear bimodal structure in the metallicity distribution function, with a dominant metal-rich peak of [Fe/H] ∼ +0.3 dex and a metal-poor peak around {Fe/H] = −0.5 dex, which is 0.2 dex poorer than Baade’s Window. The α-elements Mg, Si, Ca, and O show a similar trend to the Galactic bulge. The metal-poor component is enhanced in the α-elements, suggesting that this population could be associated with the classical bulge and a fast formation scenario. We find a clear signature of a rotating nuclear stellar disk and a significant fraction of high-velocity stars with vgal >  300 km s−1; the metal-rich stars show a much higher rotation velocity (∼200 km s−1) with respect to the metal-poor stars (∼140 km s−1). The chemical abundances as well as the metallicity distribution function suggest that the nuclear stellar disk and the nuclear star cluster show distinct chemical signatures and might be formed differently.