The Galactic thin and thick discs in the context of galaxy formation

We have obtained high-resolution spectra and carried out a detailed elemental abundance analysis for a new sample of 899 F and G dwarf stars in the Solar neighbourhood. The results allow us to, in a multi-dimensional space consisting of stellar ages, detailed elemental abundances, and full kinematic information for the stars, study and trace their respective origins. Here we briefly address selection criteria and discuss how to define a thick disc star. The results are discussed in the context of galaxy formation.Comment: Contributed talk at Chemical abundances in the Universe, connecting first stars to planets, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 265, K. Cunha, M. Spite and B. Barbuy, eds, Cambridge University Press, in pres

The origin and evolution of r- and s-process elements in the Milky Way stellar disk

Knowledge of abundance ratios as functions of metallicity can lead to insights on the origin and evolution of our Galaxy and its stellar populations. We aim to trace the chemical evolution of the neutron-capture elements Sr, Zr, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Eu in the Milky Way stellar disk to constrain the formation sites of these elements as well as to probe the evolution of the Galactic thin and thick disks. Using spectra of high resolution and high signal-to-noise we determine Sr, Zr, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Eu abundances for a sample of 593 F and G dwarf stars in the Solar neighbourhood. We present abundance results for Sr, Zr, La, Ce, Nd, Sm and Eu. We find that Nd, Sm, and Eu show trends similar to what is observed for the alpha-elements when compared to [Fe/H]. [Sr/Fe] and [Zr/Fe] show decreasing abundance ratios for increasing metallicity, reaching sub-solar values at super-solar metallicities. [La/Fe] and [Ce/Fe] do not show any clear trend with metallicity. The rapid neutron-capture process is active early in the Galaxy, mainly in type II supernovae from stars in the mass range 8-10 M_sun. Eu is almost completely produced by r-process but Nd and Sm show similar trends to Eu even if their s-process component is higher. Sr and Zr show significant enrichment at low metallicity that requires extra r-process production, that probably is different from the classical r-process. Finally, La and Ce are mainly produced via s-process from AGB stars in mass range 2-4 M_sun. The trend of [X/Fe] with age found could be explained by considering that the decrease in [X/Fe] for the thick disk stars can be due to the decrease of type II supernovae with time meaning a reduced enrichment of r-process elements in the interstellar medium. In the thin disk the trends are flatter that probably is due to that the main production from s-process is balanced by Fe production from type Ia supernovae.Comment: 25 pages, published in A&

The origin and evolution of the odd-Z iron-peak elements Sc, V, Mn, and Co in the Milky Way stellar disk

AIMS: The aim of this study is to investigate the origin and evolution of Sc, V, Mn, and Co for a homogeneous and statistically significant sample of stars probing the different populations of the Milky Way, in particular the thin and thick disks. METHODS: Using high-resolution spectra obtained with MIKE, FEROS, SOFIN, FIES, UVES and HARPS spectrographs, we determine Sc, V, Mn, and Co abundances for a large sample of F and G dwarfs in Solar neighbourhood. The method is based on spectral synthesis and using one-dimensional (1-D), plane-parallel, LTE model stellar atmospheres calculated with the MARCS 2012 code. NLTE corrections from literature were applied to Mn and Co. RESULTS: We find that the abundance trends derived for Sc (594 stars), V (466 stars), and Co (567 stars) are very similar to what has been observed for the alpha-elements in the thin and thick disks. On the contrary Mn (569 stars) is generally underabundant relative to the Sun (i.e. [Mn/Fe]<0) for [Fe/H]<0. Also, for Mn, when NLTE corrections are applied, the trend changes and is almost flat over the entire metallicity range that the stars in our sample span (-2<[Fe/H]<+0.4). The [Sc/Fe]-[Fe/H] abundance trends show a small separation between the thin and thick disks, while for V and Co they completely overlap. For Mn there is a small difference in [Mn/Fe] but only when NLTE corrections are used. Comparisons with Ti as a reference element show flat trends for all the elements except for Mn that show well separated [Mn/Ti]-[Ti/H] trends for the thin and thick disks. CONCLUSIONS: Sc and V present trends compatible with production from SNII events. In addition, Sc clearly shows a metallicity dependence for [Fe/H]<-1. Mn instead is produced in SNII events for [Fe/H]<-0.4 and then SNIa start to produce Mn. Finally, Co appears to be produced mainly in SNII with suggestion of enrichment from hypernovae at low metallicities.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 19 page

Observational Studies of the Chemical Evolution in the Galactic Thin and Thick Disks

The origin and evolution of the thin and thick disks in the Galaxy have been studied by means of detailed stellar abundances. High-resolution spectra of 102 F and G dwarf stars have been obtained with the spectrographs on the ESO 3.6-m and ESO 1.5-m telescopes on La Silla (Chile), the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Paranal (Chile), and the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) on La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). Abundances for 14 elements (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, Y, Ba, and Eu) have been determined. The following results were found: 1) Both the thin and the thick disks show distinct and well-defined abundance trends at sub-solar metallicities; 2) The thick disk shows signatures of chemical enrichment from Type Ia Supernovae; 3) [O/Fe] in the thin disk continues to decrease linearly at super-solar metallicities; 4) The abundance trends we see in the thick disk are invariant with distance from the Galactic plane ($Z_{ m max}$) and galactocentric radius ($R_{ m m}$); 4) The thick disk sample is in the mean older than the thin disk sample. The thesis also includes an investigation of ages and metallicities in the thick disk. The results from this study are; 5) There is a possible age-metallicity relation present in the thick disk, 6) Star formation has been ongoing for several billion years in the thick disk. Based on these findings, together with other constraints from the literature, we discuss different formation scenarios for the thick disk. We suggest that the currently most likely formation scenario is a violent merger event or a close encounter between the Galaxy and a companion galaxy

The age of the Galaxy's thick disk

We discuss the age of the stellar disks in the solar neighbourhood. After reviewing the various methods for age dating we discuss current estimates of the age of both the thin and the thick disk. We present preliminary results for kinematically-selected stars that belong to the thin as well as the thick disk. All of these dwarf and sub-giant stars have been studied spectroscopically and we have derived both elemental abundances as well as ages for them. A general conclusion is that in the solar neighbourhood, on average, the thick disk is older than the thin disk. However, we caution that the exclusion of stars with effective temperatures around 6500 K might result in a biased view on the full age distribution for the stars in the thick disk.Comment: 6 pages, contribution to IAU Symposium 258: The Ages of Stars, held in Baltimore, USA, October 13-17, 200

Exploring the production and depletion of lithium in the Milky Way stellar disk

[ABRIDGED] We determine Li abundances for a well-studied sample of 714 F and G dwarf, turn-off, and subgiant stars in the solar neighbourhood. The analysis is based on line synthesis of the Li line at 6707 {\AA} in high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio echelle spectra, obtained with the MIKE, FEROS, SOFIN, UVES, and FIES spectrographs. The presented Li abundances are corrected for non-LTE effects. Out of the sample of 714 stars we are able to determine Li abundances for 420 stars and upper limits on the Li abundance for another 121 stars. 18 of the stars with well-determined Li abundances are listed as exoplanet host stars. Our main finding is that there are no signatures of Li production in the thick disk, but the Li abundance for stars of the same effective temperature is independent of metallicity for stars that can be associated with the Galactic thick disk. Significant Li production is however seen in the thin disk, with a steady increase towards super-solar metallicities. At the highest metallicities, however, around [Fe/H]~ +0.3, we tentatively confirm the recent discovery that the Li abundances level out. We hence contradict the recent finding in other studies that found that Li is also produced in the thick disk. This is likely due to the chemically defined selection criteria those studies used to define their thick disk samples. Age criteria that we use here, produce a thick disk stellar sample that is much less contaminated by thin disk stars, and hence more reliable abundance trends. [ABRIDGED] A conclusion that can be drawn is that no significant Li production, relative to the primordial abundance, took place during the first few billion years of the Milky Way, an era coinciding with the formation and evolution of the thick disk. [ABRIDGED]Comment: Accepted for publication in A&