Browsing by Author "Nataf, David M."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Exploring the Stellar Age Distribution of the Milky Way Bulge Using APOGEE
    (2020) Hasselquist, Sten; Zasowski, Gail; Feuillet, Diane K.; Schultheis, Mathias; Nataf, David M.; Anguiano, Borja; Beaton, Rachael L.; Beers, Timothy C.; Cohen, Roger E.; Cunha, Katia; Fernandez-Trincado, Jose G.; Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.; Geisler, Doug; Holtzman, Jon A.; Johnson, Jennifer; Lane, Richard R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Bidin, Christian Moni; Nitschelm, Christian; Roman-Lopes, Alexandre; Schiavon, Ricardo; Smith, Verne V.; Sobeck, Jennifer
    We present stellar age distributions of the Milky Way bulge region using ages for similar to 6000 high-luminosity (log (g), metal-rich ([Fe/H] >= -0.5) bulge stars observed by the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment. Ages are derived using The Cannon label-transfer method, trained on a sample of nearby luminous giants with precise parallaxes for which we obtain ages using a Bayesian isochrone-matching technique. We find that the metal-rich bulge is predominantly composed of old stars (>8 Gyr). We find evidence that the planar region of the bulge (vertical bar Z(GC)vertical bar <= 0.25 kpc) is enriched in metallicity, Z, at a faster rate (dZ/dt similar to 0.0034 Gyr(-1)) than regions farther from the plane (dZ/dt similar to 0.0013 Gyr(-1) at vertical bar Z(GC)vertical bar > 1.00 kpc). We identify a nonnegligible fraction of younger stars (age similar to 2-5 Gyr) at metallicities of +0.2 < [Fe/H] < +0.4. These stars are preferentially found in the plane (vertical bar Z(GC)vertical bar <= 0.25 kpc) and at R-cy approximate to 2-3 kpc, with kinematics that are more consistent with rotation than are the kinematics of older stars at the same metallicities. We do not measure a significant age difference between stars found inside and outside the bar. These findings show that the bulge experienced an initial starburst that was more intense close to the plane than far from the plane. Then, star formation continued at supersolar metallicities in a thin disk at 2 kpc less than or similar to R-cy less than or similar to 3 kpc until similar to 2 Gyr ago.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The contribution of N-rich stars to the Galactic stellar halo using APOGEE red giants
    (2021) Horta, Danny; Mackereth, J. Ted; Schiavon, Ricardo P.; Hasselquist, Sten; Bovy, Jo; Prieto, Carlos Allende; Beers, Timothy C.; Cunha, Katia; Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.; Kisku, Shobhit S.; Lane, Richard R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Mason, Andrew C.; Nataf, David M.; Roman-Lopes, Alexandre; Schultheis, Mathias
    The contribution of dissolved globular clusters (GCs) to the stellar content of the Galactic halo is a key constraint on models for GC formation and destruction, and the mass assembly history of the Milky Way. Earlier results from APOGEE pointed to a large contribution of destroyed GCs to the stellar content of the inner halo, by as much as 25 per cent, which is an order of magnitude larger than previous estimates for more distant regions of the halo. We set out to measure the ratio between nitrogen-rich (N-rich) and normal halo field stars, as a function of distance, by performing density modelling of halo field populations in APOGEE DR16. Our results show that at 1.5 kpc from the Galactic Centre, N-rich stars contribute a much higher 16.81(-7.0)(+10.0) per cent fraction to the total stellar halo mass budget than the 2.7(-0.8)(-1.0) per cent ratio contributed at 10 kpc. Under the assumption that N-rich stars are former GC members that now reside in the stellar halo field, and assuming the ratio between first and second population GC stars being 1:2, we estimate a total contribution from disrupted GC stars of the order of 27.5(-11.5)(+15.4) per cent at r = 1.5 kpc and 4.2(-1:3)(+1.5) per cent at r = 10 kpc. Furthermore, since our methodology requires fitting a density model to the stellar halo, we integrate such density within a spherical shell from 1.5 to 15 kpc in radius, and find a total stellar mass arising from dissolved and/or evaporated GCs of M-GC(total) = 9.6-2.6(+4.0) x 10(7) M-circle dot.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The Milky Way's bulge star formation history as constrained from its bimodal chemical abundance distribution
    (2020) Lian, Jianhui; Zasowski, Gail; Hasselquist, Sten; Nataf, David M.; Thomas, Daniel; Bidin, Christian Moni; Fernandez-Trincado, Jose G.; Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.; Lane, Richard R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Roman-Lopes, Alexandre; Schultheis, Mathias
    We conduct a quantitative analysis of the star formation history (SFH) of the Milky Way's (MW) bulge by exploiting the constraining power of its stellar [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] distribution functions. Using Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment survey data, we confirm the previously established bimodal [Mg/Fe]-[Fe/H] distribution within 3 kpc of the inner Galaxy. To fit the chemical bimodal distribution, we use a simple but flexible star formation framework, which assumes two distinct stages of gas accretion and star formation, and systematically evaluate a wide multidimensional parameter space. We find that the data favour a three-phase SFH that consists of an initial starburst, followed by a rapid star formation quenching episode, and a lengthy, quiescent secular evolution phase. The metal-poor, high-alpha bulge stars ([Fe/H] < 0.0 and [Mg/Fe] > 0.15) are formed rapidly (<2Gyr) during the early starburst. The density gap between the high- and low-alpha sequences is due to the quenching process. The metal-rich, low-a population ([Fe/H] > 0.0 and [Mg/Fe] < 0.15) then accumulates gradually through inefficient star formation during the secular phase. This is qualitatively consistent with the early SFH of the inner disc. Given this scenario, a notable fraction of young stars (age <5Gyr) is expected to persist in the bulge. Combined with extragalactic observations, these results suggest that a rapid star formation quenching process is responsible for bimodal distributions in both the MW's stellar populations and in the general galaxy population and thus plays a critical role in galaxy evolution.