Bibcode
Ramírez, I.; Allende-Prieto, C.; Lambert, D. L.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 764, Issue 1, article id. 78, 23 pp. (2013).
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2013
Journal
Citations
215
Refereed citations
207
Description
Atmospheric parameters and oxygen abundances of 825 nearby FGK stars are
derived using high-quality spectra and a non-local thermodynamic
equilibrium analysis of the 777 nm O I triplet lines. We assign a
kinematic probability for the stars to be thin-disk (P 1),
thick-disk (P 2), and halo (P 3) members. We
confirm previous findings of enhanced [O/Fe] in thick-disk (P
2 > 0.5) relative to thin-disk (P 1 > 0.5)
stars with [Fe/H] <~ –0.2, as well as a "knee" that connects
the mean [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] trend of thick-disk stars with that of thin-disk
members at [Fe/H] >~ –0.2. Nevertheless, we find that the
kinematic membership criterion fails at separating perfectly the stars
in the [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane, even when a very restrictive kinematic
separation is employed. Stars with "intermediate" kinematics (P
1 < 0.7, P 2 < 0.7) do not all populate the
region of the [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane intermediate between the mean
thin-disk and thick-disk trends, but their distribution is not
necessarily bimodal. Halo stars (P 3 > 0.5) show a large
star-to-star scatter in [O/Fe]-[Fe/H], but most of it is due to stars
with Galactocentric rotational velocity V <–200 km
s–1 halo stars with V >–200 km
s–1 follow an [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] relation with almost no
star-to-star scatter. Early mergers with satellite galaxies explain most
of our observations, but the significant fraction of disk stars with
"ambiguous" kinematics and abundances suggests that scattering by
molecular clouds and radial migration have both played an important role
in determining the kinematic and chemical properties of solar
neighborhood stars.
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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