The transition between the thick and thin Galactic disks

Abstract

AbstractWe study the transition between the thick and thick disks using solar neighbourhood data, focusing in particular on the status of local metal-poor thin disk stars ([Fe/H]<−0.3 dex, [α/Fe]<0.1 dex). The orbital properties of these stars, which are responsible for the hiatus in metallicity between the two disks, suggest that they most likely originate from the outer Galactic thin disk. It implies that the transition between the two stellar populations at a solar galactocentric distance must have occurred at a metallicity of about −0.3 dex. Transition stars at this metallicity are in fact present in local samples and fill the gap in α-element between the thick and thin disks. These results imply that, at least from the local data, there is a clear evolutionary link between the thick and thin disks.