Chemical Cartography with APOGEE: Multi-element Abundance Ratios

Weinberg, D. H.; Holtzman, Jon A.; Hasselquist, Sten; Bird, Jonathan C.; Johnson, Jennifer A.; Shetrone, Matthew; Sobeck, Jennifer; Allende Prieto, C.; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Carrera, Ricardo; Cohen, Roger E.; Cunha, Katia; Ebelke, Garrett; Fernandez-Trincado, J. G.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Hayes, Christian R.; Jönsson, Henrik; Lane, Richard R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Malanushenko, Viktor; Mészáros, Szabolcs; Nidever, David L.; Nitschelm, Christian; Pan, Kaike; Rix, Hans-Walter; Rybizki, Jan; Schiavon, Ricardo P.; Schneider, Donald P.; Wilson, John C.; Zamora, O.
Bibliographical reference

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 874, Issue 1, article id. 102, 25 pp. (2019).

Advertised on:
3
2019
Number of authors
30
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
98
Refereed citations
87
Description
We map the trends of elemental abundance ratios across the Galactic disk, spanning R=3{--}15 {kpc} and midplane distance | Z| =0{--}2 {kpc}, for 15 elements in a sample of 20,485 stars measured by the SDSS/APOGEE survey (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni). Adopting Mg rather than Fe as our reference element, and separating stars into two populations based on [Fe/Mg], we find that the median trends of [X/Mg] versus [Mg/H] in each population are nearly independent of location in the Galaxy. The full multi-element cartography can be summarized by combining these nearly universal median sequences with our measured metallicity distribution functions and the relative proportions of the low-[Fe/Mg] (high-α) and high-[Fe/Mg] (low-α) populations, which depend strongly on R and | Z| . We interpret the median sequences with a semi-empirical “two-process” model that describes both the ratio of core collapse and Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) contributions to each element and the metallicity dependence of the supernova yields. These observationally inferred trends can provide strong tests of supernova nucleosynthesis calculations. Our results lead to a relatively simple picture of abundance ratio variations in the Milky Way, in which the trends at any location can be described as the sum of two components with relative contributions that change systematically and smoothly across the Galaxy. Deviations from this picture and future extensions to other elements can provide further insights into the physics of stellar nucleosynthesis and unusual events in the Galaxy’s history.
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