Browsing by Author "Schultheis, M."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 29
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Chemical and Kinematical Analysis of the Intermediate-age Open Cluster IC 166 from APOGEE and Gaia DR2
    (2018) Schiappacasse-Ulloa, J.; Tang, B.; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; Zamora, O.; Geisler, D.; Frinchaboy, P.; Schultheis, M.; Dell'Agli, F.; Villanova, S.; Masseron, T.; Meszaros, Sz; Souto, D.; Hasselquist, S.; Cunha, K.; Smith, V. V.; Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.; Vieira, K.; Robin, A. C.; Minniti, D.; Zasowski, G.; Moreno, E.; Perez-Villegas, A.; Lane, R. R.; Ivans, I. I.; Pan, K.; Nitschelm, C.; Santana, F. A.; Carrera, R.; Roman-Lopes, A.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    A Perspective on the Milky Way Bulge Bar as Seen from the Neutron-capture Elements Cerium and Neodymium with APOGEE
    (2024) Sales-Silva, J. V.; Cunha, K.; Smith, V. V.; Daflon, S.; Souto, D.; Guerco, R.; Queiroz, A.; Chiappini, C.; Hayes, C. R.; Masseron, T.; Hasselquist, Sten; Horta, D.; Prantzos, N.; Zoccali, M.; Allende Prieto, C.; Barbuy, B.; Beaton, R.; Bizyaev, D.; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Holtzman, J. A.; Johnson, J. A.; Joensson, Henrik; Majewski, S. R.; Minniti, D.; Nidever, D. L.; Schiavon, R. P.; Schultheis, M.; Sobeck, J.; Stringfellow, G. S.; Zasowski, G.
    This study probes the chemical abundances of the neutron-capture elements cerium and neodymium in the inner Milky Way from an analysis of a sample of similar to 2000 stars in the Galactic bulge bar spatially contained within divided by X-Gal divided by < 5 kpc, divided by Y-Gal divided by < 3.5 kpc, and divided by Z(Gal)divided by < 1 kpc, and spanning metallicities between -2.0 less than or similar to [Fe/H] less than or similar to +0.5. We classify the sample stars into low- or high-[Mg/Fe] populations and find that, in general, values of [Ce/Fe] and [Nd/Fe] increase as the metallicity decreases for the low- and high-[Mg/Fe] populations. Ce abundances show a more complex variation across the metallicity range of our bulge-bar sample when compared to Nd, with the r-process dominating the production of neutron-capture elements in the high-[Mg/Fe] population ([Ce/Nd] < 0.0). We find a spatial chemical dependence of Ce and Nd abundances for our sample of bulge-bar stars, with low- and high-[Mg/Fe] populations displaying a distinct abundance distribution. In the region close to the center of the MW, the low-[Mg/Fe] population is dominated by stars with low [Ce/Fe], [Ce/Mg], [Nd/Mg], [Nd/Fe], and [Ce/Nd] ratios. The low [Ce/Nd] ratio indicates a significant contribution in this central region from r-process yields for the low-[Mg/Fe] population. The chemical pattern of the most metal-poor stars in our sample suggests an early chemical enrichment of the bulge dominated by yields from core-collapse supernovae and r-process astrophysical sites, such as magnetorotational supernovae.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Abundance analysis of APOGEE spectra for 58 metal-poor stars from the bulge spheroid
    (2022) Razera, R.; Barbuy, B.; Moura, T. C.; Ernandes, H.; Perez-Villegas, A.; Souza, S. O.; Chiappini, C.; Queiroz, A. B. A.; Anders, F.; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; Friaca, A. C. S.; Cunha, K.; Smith, V. V.; Santiago, B. X.; Schiavon, R. P.; Valentini, M.; Minniti, D.; Schultheis, M.; Geisler, D.; Sobeck, J.; Placco, V. M.; Zoccali, M.
    The central part of the Galaxy hosts a multitude of stellar populations, including the spheroidal bulge stars, stars moved to the bulge through secular evolution of the bar, inner halo, inner thick disc, inner thin disc, as well as debris from past accretion events. We identified a sample of 58 candidate stars belonging to the stellar population of the spheroidal bulge, and analyse their abundances. The present calculations of Mg, Ca, and Si lines are in agreement with the ASPCAP abundances, whereas abundances of C, N, O, and Ce are re-examined. We find normal alpha-element enhancements in oxygen, similar to magnesium, Si, and Ca abundances, which are typical of other bulge stars surveyed in the optical in Baade's Window. The enhancement of [O/Fe] in these stars suggests that they do not belong to accreted debris. No spread in N abundances is found, and none of the sample stars is N-rich, indicating that these stars are not second generation stars originated in globular clusters. Ce instead is enhanced in the sample stars, which points to an s-process origin such as due to enrichment from early generations of massive fast rotating stars, the so-called spinstars.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Abundances of iron-peak elements in 58 bulge spheroid stars from APOGEE
    (EDP SCIENCES S A, 2024) Barbuy, B.; Friaca, A. C. S.; Ernandes, H.; da Silva, P.; Souza, S. O.; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; Cunha, K.; Smith, V. V.; Masseron, T.; Perez-Villegas, A.; Chiappini, C.; Queiroz, A. B. A.; Santiago, B. X.; Beers, T. C.; Anders, F.; Schiavon, R. P.; Valentini, M.; Minniti, D.; Geisler, D.; Souto, D.; Placco, V. M.; Zoccali, Manuela; Feltzing, S.; Schultheis, M.; Nitschelm, C.
    Context. Stars presently identified in the bulge spheroid are probably very old, and their abundances can be interpreted as due to the fast chemical enrichment of the early Galactic bulge. The abundances of the iron-peak elements are important tracers of nucleosynthesis processes, in particular oxygen burning, silicon burning, the weak s-process, and alpha-rich freeze-out. Aims. The aim of this work is to derive the abundances of V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu in 58 bulge spheroid stars and to compare them with the results of a previous analysis of data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). Methods. We selected the best lines for V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu located within the H-band of the spectrum, identifying the most suitable ones for abundance determination, and discarding severe blends. Using the stellar physical parameters available for our sample from the DR17 release of the APOGEE project, we derived the individual abundances through spectrum synthesis. We then complemented these measurements with similar results from different bulge field and globular cluster stars, in order to define the trends of the individual elements and compare with the results of chemical-evolution models. Results. We verify that the H-band has useful lines for the derivation of the elements V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu in moderately metal-poor stars. The abundances, plotted together with others from high-resolution spectroscopy of bulge stars, indicate that: V, Cr, and Ni vary in lockstep with Fe; Co tends to vary in lockstep with Fe, but could be showing a slight decrease with decreasing metallicity; and Mn and Cu decrease with decreasing metallicity. These behaviours are well reproduced by chemical-evolution models that adopt literature yields, except for Cu, which appears to drop faster than the models predict for [Fe/H]<-0.8. Finally, abundance indicators combined with kinematical and dynamical criteria appear to show that our 58 sample stars are likely to have originated in situ.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    APOGEE DR14/DR15 abundances in the Inner Milky Way
    (2019) Zasowski, G.; Schultheis, M.; Hasselquist, S.; Cunha, K.; Sobeck, J.; Johnson, J.A.; Rojas Arriagada, Alvaro; Majewski, S.R.; Andrew, B.H.; Minniti, D.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Atypical Mg-poor Milky Way Field Stars with Globular Cluster Second-generation-like Chemical Patterns
    (2017) Fernández Trincado J.; Zamora, O.; García Hernández, D.; Souto, D.; Dell'Agli, F.; Schiavon, R.; Geisler, D.; Tang, B.; Villanova, S.; Chanamé, Julio; Hasselquist, S.; Mennickent, R.; Cunha, K.; Shetrone, M.; Prieto, C.; Vieira, K.; Zasowski, G.; Sobeck, J.; Hayes, C.; Majewski, S.; Placco, V.; Beers, T.; Schleicher, D.; Robin, A.; Mészáros, S.; Masseron, T.; Pérez, A.; Anders, F.; Meza, A.; Alves-Brito A.; Carrera, R.; Minniti, D.; Lane, R.; Fernández-Alvar E.; Moreno, E.; Pichardo, B.; Pérez-Villegas, A.; Schultheis, M.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Fuentes, C.; Nitschelm, C.; Harding, P.; Bizyaev, D.; Pan, K.; Oravetz, D.; Simmons, A.; Ivans, I.; Blanco-Cuaresma, S.; Hernández J.; Alonso-García, J.; Valenzuela, O.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Baade's window and APOGEE Metallicities, ages, and chemical abundances
    (2017) Schultheis, M.; Rojas Arriagada, Alvaro; Pérez, A. E. García; Jönsson, H.; Hayden, M.; Nandakumar, G.; Cunha, K.; Prieto, C. Allende; Holtzman, J. A.; Beers, T. C.; Bizyaev, D.; Brinkmann, J.; Carrera, R.; Cohen, R. E.; Geisler, D.; Hearty, F. R.; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Maraston, C.; Minniti, D.; Nitschelm, C.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Schneider, D. P.; Tang, B.; Villanova, S.; Zasowski, G.; Majewski, S. R.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Chemical evolution of fluorine in the bulge High-resolution K-band spectra of giants in three fields
    (2014) Jonsson, H.; Ryde, N.; Harper, G.; Cunha, K.; Schultheis, M.; Eriksson, K.; Kobayashi, C.; Smith, V.; Zoccali, Manuela
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Cool stars in the Galactic center as seen by APOGEE : M giants, AGB stars, and supergiant stars and candidates
    (2020) Schultheis, M.; Rojas Arriagada, Alvaro; Cunha, K.; Zoccali, Manuela; Chiappini, C.; Zasowski, G.; Queiroz, A. B. A.; Minniti, D.; Fritz, T.; Garcia Hernandez, D. A.; Nitschelm, C.; Zamora, O.; Hasselquist, S.; Fernandez Trincado, J. G.; Munoz, R. .R
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effects of the selection function on metallicity trends in spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way
    (EDP SCIENCES S A, 2017) Nandakumar, G.; Schultheis, M.; Hayden, M.; Rojas Arriagada, A.; Kordopatis, G.; Haywood, M.
    Context. Large spectroscopic Galactic surveys imply a selection function in the way they performed their target selection.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    From the bulge to the outer disc: monospace StarHorse monospace stellar parameters, distances, and extinctions for stars in APOGEE DR16 and other spectroscopic surveys
    (2020) Queiroz, A. B. A.; Anders, F.; Chiappini, C.; Khalatyan, A.; Santiago, B. X.; Steinmetz, M.; Valentini, M.; Miglio, A.; Bossini, D.; Barbuy, B.; Minchev, I; Minniti, D.; Garcia Hernandez, D. A.; Schultheis, M.; Beaton, R. L.; Beers, T. C.; Bizyaev, D.; Brownstein, J. R.; Cunha, K.; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Lane, R. R.; Majewski, S. R.; Nataf, D.; Nitschelm, C.; Pan, K.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Sobeck, J. S.; Stringfellow, G.; Zamora, O.
    We combine high-resolution spectroscopic data from APOGEE-2 survey Data Release 16 (DR16) with broad-band photometric data from several sources as well as parallaxes from Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2). Using the Bayesian isochrone-fitting code StarHorse, we derived the distances, extinctions, and astrophysical parameters for around 388 815 APOGEE stars. We achieve typical distance uncertainties of similar to 6% for APOGEE giants, similar to 2% for APOGEE dwarfs, and extinction uncertainties of similar to 0.07 mag, when all photometric information is available, and similar to 0.17 mag if optical photometry is missing. StarHorse uncertainties vary with the input spectroscopic catalogue, available photometry, and parallax uncertainties. To illustrate the impact of our results, we show that thanks to Gaia DR2 and the now larger sky coverage of APOGEE-2 (including APOGEE-South), we obtain an extended map of the Galactic plane. We thereby provide an unprecedented coverage of the disc close to the Galactic mid-plane (|Z(Gal)| < 1 kpc) from the Galactic centre out to R-Gal20 kpc. The improvements in statistics as well as distance and extinction uncertainties unveil the presence of the bar in stellar density and the striking chemical duality in the innermost regions of the disc, which now clearly extend to the inner bulge. We complement this paper with distances and extinctions for stars in other public released spectroscopic surveys: 324 999 in GALAH DR2, 4 928 715 in LAMOST DR5, 408 894 in RAVE DR6, and 6095 in GES DR3.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    H-band discovery of additional second-generation stars in the Galactic bulge globular cluster NGC 6522 as observed by APOGEE and Gaia
    (2019) Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; Zamora, O.; Souto, Diogo; Cohen, R. E.; Agli, F. Dell; Garcia-Hernandez, D. A.; Masseron, T.; Schiavon, R. P.; Meszaros, Sz; Cunha, K.; Hasselquist, S.; Shetrone, M.; Schiappacasse Ulloa, J.; Tang, B.; Geisler, D.; Schleicher, D. R. G.; Villanova, S.; Mennickent, R. E.; Minniti, D.; Alonso-Garcia, J.; Manchado, A.; Beers, T. C.; Sobeck, J.; Zasowski, G.; Schultheis, M.; Majewski, S. R.; Rojas-Arriagada, A.; Almeida, A.; Santana, F.; Oelkers, R. J.; Longa-Pena, P.; Carrera, R.; Burgasser, A. J.; Lane, R. R.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Ivans, I. I.; Hearty, F. R.
    We present an elemental abundance analysis of high-resolution spectra for five giant stars spatially located within the innermost regions of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522 and derive Fe, Mg, Al, C, N, O, Si, and Ce abundances based on H-band spectra taken with the multi-object APOGEE-north spectrograph from the SDSS-IV Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. Of the five cluster candidates, two previously unremarked stars are confirmed to have second-generation (SG) abundance patterns, with the basic pattern of depletion in C and Mg simultaneous with enrichment in N and Al as seen in other SG globular cluster populations at similar metallicity. In agreement with the most recent optical studies, the NGC 6522 stars analyzed exhibit (when available) only mild overabundances of the s-process element Ce, contradicting the idea that NGC 6522 stars are formed from gas enriched by spinstars and indicating that other stellar sources such as massive AGB stars could be the primary polluters of intra-cluster medium. The peculiar abundance signatures of SG stars have been observed in our data, confirming the presence of multiple generations of stars in NGC 6522.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Light elements Na and Al in 58 bulge spheroid stars from APOGEE
    (2023) Barbuy, B.; Friaca, A. C. S.; Ernandes, H.; Moura, T.; Masseron, T.; Cunha, K.; Smith, V. V.; Souto, D.; Perez-Villegas, A.; Souza, S. O.; Chiappini, C.; Queiroz, A. B. A.; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; da Silva, P.; Santiago, B. X.; Anders, F.; Schiavon, R. P.; Valentini, M.; Minniti, D.; Geisler, D.; Placco, V. M.; Zoccali, M.; Schultheis, M.; Nitschelm, C.; Beers, T. C.; Razera, R.
    We identified a sample of 58 candidate stars with metallicity [Fe/H]less than or similar to-0.8 that likely belong to the old bulge spheroid stellar population, and analyse their Na and Al abundances from Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectra. In a previous work, we inspected APOGEE-Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundance Pipeline abundances of C, N, O, Mg, Al, Ca, Si, and Ce in this sample. Regarding Na lines, one of them appears very strong in about 20percent of the sample stars, but it is not confirmed by other Na lines, and can be explained by sky lines, which affect the reduced spectra of stars in a certain radial velocity range. The Na abundances for 15 more reliable cases were taken into account. Al lines in the H band instead appear to be very reliable. Na and Al exhibit a spread in abundances, whereas no spread in N abundances is found, and we found no correlation between them, indicating that these stars could not be identified as second-generation stars that originated in globular clusters. We carry out the study of the behaviour of Na and Al in our sample of bulge stars and literature data by comparing them with chemodynamical evolution model suitable for the Galactic bulge. The Na abundances show a large spread, and the chemodynamical models follow the main data, whereas for aluminum instead, the models reproduce very satisfactorily the nearly secondary-element behaviour of aluminum in the metallicity range below [Fe/H]less than or similar to-1.0. For the lower-metallicity end ([Fe/H<-2.5), hypernovae are assumed to be the main contributor to yields.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Mapping the Milky Way bulge at high resolution : the 3D dust extinction, CO, and X factor maps
    (2014) Schultheis, M.; Chen, B.Q.; Jiang, B.W.; Gonzalez, O.A.; Enokiya, R.; Fukui, Y.; Torii, K.; Rejkuba, M.; Minniti, D.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Milky Way demographics with the VVV survey: III. Evidence for a great dark lane in the 157 million star bulge color-magnitude diagram
    (2014) Minniti, D.; Saito, R.; Gonzalez, O.; Zoccali, Manuela; Rejkuba, M.; Alonso-Garcia, J.; Benjamin, R.; Catelan, Márcio; Dekany, Istvan; Emerson, J.; Hempel, M.; Lucas, P.; Schultheis, M.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    MOONS: The New Multi-Object Spectrograph for the VLT
    (2020) Cirasuolo, M.; Fairley, A.; Rees, P.; González, O. A.; Taylor, W.; Maiolino, R.; Afonso, J.; Evans, C.; Flores, H.; Lilly, S.; Oliva, E.; Paltani, S.; Vanzi, L.; Abreu, M.; Accardo, M.; Adams, N.; Álvarez Méndez, D.; Amans, J. -P.; Amarantidis, S.; Atek, H.; Atkinson, D.; Banerji, M.; Barrett, J.; Barrientos, F.; Bauer, F.; Beard, S.; Béchet, C.; Belfiore, A.; Bellazzini, M.; Benoist, C.; Best, P.; Biazzo, K.; Black, M.; Boettger, D.; Bonifacio, P.; Bowler, R.; Bragaglia, A.; Brierley, S.; Brinchmann, J.; Brinkmann, M.; Buat, V.; Buitrago, F.; Burgarella, D.; Burningham, B.; Buscher, D.; Cabral, A.; Caffau, E.; Cardoso, L.; Carnall, A.; Carollo, M.; Castillo, R.; Castignani, G.; Catelan, Márcio; Cicone, C.; Cimatti, A.; Cioni, M. -R. L.; Clementini, G.; Cochrane, W.; Coelho, J.; Colling, M.; Contini, T.; Contreras, R.; Conzelmann, R.; Cresci, G.; Cropper, M.; Cucciati, O.; Cullen, F.; Cumani, C.; Curti, M.; Da Silva, A.; Daddi, E.; Dalessandro, E.; Dalessio, F.; Dauvin, L.; Davidson, G.; de Laverny, P.; Delplancke-Ströbele, F.; De Lucia, G.; Del Vecchio, C.; Dessauges-Zavadsky, M.; Di Matteo, P.; Dole, H.; Drass, H.; Dunlop, J.; Dünner, R.; Eales, S.; Ellis, R.; Enriques, B.; Fasola, G.; Ferguson, A.; Ferruzzi, D.; Fisher, M.; Flores, M.; Fontana, A.; Forchi, V.; Francois, P.; Franzetti, P.; Gargiulo, A.; Garilli, B.; Gaudemard, J.; Gieles, M.; Gilmore, G.; Ginolfi, M.; Gomes, J. M.; Guinouard, I.; Gutierrez, P.; Haigron, R.; Hammer, F.; Hammersley, P.; Haniff, C.; Harrison, C.; Haywood, M.; Hill, V.; Hubin, N.; Humphrey, A.; Ibata, R.; Infante, L.; Ives, D.; Ivison, R.; Iwert, O.; Jablonka, P.; Jakob, G.; Jarvis, M.; King, D.; Kneib, J. -P.; Laporte, P.; Lawrence, A.; Lee, D.; Li Causi, G.; Lorenzoni, S.; Lucatello, S.; Luco, Y.; Macleod, A.; Magliocchetti, M.; Magrini, L.; Mainieri, V.; Maire, C.; Mannucci, F.; Martin, N.; Matute, I.; Maurogordato, S.; McGee, S.; Mcleod, D.; McLure, R.; McMahon, R.; Melse, B. -T.; Messias, H.; Mucciarelli, A.; Nisini, B.; Nix, J.; Norberg, P.; Oesch, P.; Oliveira, A.; Origlia, L.; Padilla, N.; Palsa, R.; Pancino, E.; Papaderos, P.; Pappalardo, C.; Parry, I.; Pasquini, L.; Peacock, J.; Pedichini, F.; Pello, R.; Peng, Y.; Pentericci, L.; Pfuhl, O.; Piazzesi, R.; Popovic, D.; Pozzetti, L.; Puech, M.; Puzia, T.; Raichoor, A.; Randich, S.; Recio-Blanco, A.; Reis, S.; Reix, F.; Renzini, A.; Rodrigues, M.; Rojas, Felipe; Rojas-Arriagada, Á.; Rota, S.; Royer, F.; Sacco, G.; Sanchez-Janssen, R.; Sanna, N.; Santos, P.; Sarzi, M.; Schaerer, D.; Schiavon, R.; Schnell, R.; Schultheis, M.; Scodeggio, M.; Serjeant, S.; Shen, T. -C.; Simmonds, C.; Smoker, J.; Sobral, D.; Sordet, M.; Spérone, D.; Strachan, J.; Sun, X.; Swinbank, M.; Tait, G.; Tereno, I.; Tojeiro, R.; Torres, M.; Tosi, M.; Tozzi, A.; Tresiter, E.; Valenti, E.; Valenzuela Navarro, Á.; Vanzella, E.; Vergani, S.; Verhamme, A.; Vernet, J.; Vignali, C.; Vinther, J.; Von Dran, L.; Waring, C.; Watson, S.; Wild, V.; Willesme, B.; Woodward, B.; Wuyts, S.; Yang, Y.; Zamorani, G.; Zoccali, M.; Bluck, A.; Trussler, J.
    MOONS is the new Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph currently under construction for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO. This remarkable instrument combines, for the first time, the collecting power of an 8-m telescope, 1000 fibres with individual robotic positioners, and both low- and high-resolution simultaneous spectral coverage across the 0.64-1.8 μm wavelength range. This facility will provide the astronomical community with a powerful, world-leading instrument able to serve a wide range of Galactic, extragalactic and cosmological studies. Construction is now proceeding full steam ahead and this overview article presents some of the science goals and the technical description of the MOONS instrument. More detailed information on the MOONS surveys is provided in the other dedicated articles in this Messenger issue....
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Near-infrared spectroscopic observations of massive young stellar object candidates in the central molecular zone
    (2018) Nandakumar, G.; Schultheis, M.; Feldmeier-Krause, A.; Schodel, R.; Neumayer, N.; Matteucci, F.; Ryde, N.; Rojas-Arriagada, A.; Tej, A.
    Context. The central molecular zone (CMZ) is a similar to 200 pc region around the Galactic centre. The study of star formation in the central part of the Milky Way is of great interest as it provides a template for the closest galactic nuclei.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The bimodal [Mg/Fe] versus [Fe/H] bulge sequence as revealed by APOGEE DR14
    (2019) Rojas-Arriagada, A.; Zoccali, M.; Schultheis, M.; Recio-Blanco, A.; Zasowski, G.; Minniti, D.; Jonsson, H.; Cohen, R. E.
    Context. The Galactic bulge has a bimodal metallicity distribution function: different kinematic, spatial, and, potentially, age distributions characterize the metal-poor and metal-rich components. Despite this observed dichotomy, which argues for different formation channels for those stars, the distribution of bulge stars in the alpha-abundance versus metallicity plane has been found so far to be a rather smooth single sequence.