Abstract
Abstract Using nearly 230,000 red clump stars selected from LAMOST and Gaia, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the stellar age–velocity dispersion relations (AVRs) for various disk populations, within 5.0 ≤ R ≤ 15.0 kpc and ∣Z∣ ≤ 3.0 kpc. The AVRs of the whole red clump sample stars are accurately described as σ v = σ v,0 (τ + 0.1) β v , with β R , β ϕ , and β Z displaying a global exponential decreasing trend with R, which may point to the difference in spatial distributions of various disk heating mechanisms. The measurements of β–R for various disks suggest that the thin disk exhibits a radial dependence, with a global exponential decreasing trend in β R –R and β Z –R, while β ϕ remains a nearly constant value (around 0.20 ∼ 0.25) within 8.5 ≤ R ≤ 11.5 kpc. The thick disk displays a global increasing trend in β R –R, β ϕ –R, and β Z –R. These results indicate that the thin disk stars are likely heated by long-term heating from giant molecular clouds and spiral arms, while thick disk stars are likely heated by some violent heating process from merger and accretion, and/or formed by the inside-out and upside-down star formation scenarios, and/or born in the chaotic mergers of gas-rich systems and/or turbulent interstellar medium. Our results also suggest that the disk perturbation by a recent minor merger from Sagittarius may have occurred within 3.0 Gyr.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call