The contribution of N-rich stars to the Galactic stellar halo using APOGEE red giants

Horta, Danny; Mackereth, J. Ted; Schiavon, Ricardo P.; Hasselquist, Sten; Bovy, Jo; Allende Prieto, Carlos; Beers, Timothy C.; Cunha, Katia; García-Hernández, D. A.; Kisku, Shobhit S.; Lane, Richard R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Mason, Andrew C.; Nataf, David M.; Roman-Lopes, Alexandre; Schultheis, Mathias
Bibliographical reference

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Advertised on:
1
2021
Number of authors
16
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
35
Refereed citations
32
Description
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 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ , 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 16.8 $^{+10.0}_{-7.0}\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ fraction to the total stellar halo mass budget than the 2.7 $^{+1.0}_{-0.8}\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ 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 $^{+15.4}_{-11.5}\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ at r = 1.5 kpc and 4.2 $^{+1.5}_{-1.3}\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ 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 MGC,total = 9.6 $^{+4.0}_{-2.6}\, \times$ 107 M☉.
Related projects
Project Image
Nucleosynthesis and molecular processes in the late stages of Stellar Evolution
Low- to intermediate-mass (M < 8 solar masses, Ms) stars represent the majority of stars in the Cosmos. They finish their lives on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) - just before they form planetary nebulae (PNe) - where they experience complex nucleosynthetic and molecular processes. AGB stars are important contributors to the enrichment of the
Domingo Aníbal
García Hernández
spectrum of mercury lamp
Chemical Abundances in Stars
Stellar spectroscopy allows us to determine the properties and chemical compositions of stars. From this information for stars of different ages in the Milky Way, it is possible to reconstruct the chemical evolution of the Galaxy, as well as the origin of the elements heavier than boron, created mainly in stellar interiors. It is also possible to
Carlos
Allende Prieto