Turnoff Stars Research Articles

Chemical Evolution of R-process Elements in Stars (CERES). II. The impact of stellar evolution and rotation on light and heavy elements

Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are the most abundant elements throughout the universe, after hydrogen and helium. Studying these elements in low-metallicity stars can provide crucial information on the chemical composition in the early Galaxy and possible internal mixing processes that can alter the surface composition of the stars. This work aims to investigate the chemical abundance patterns for CNO elements and Li in a homogeneously analyzed sample of 52 metal-poor halo giant stars. From these results, we have been able to determine whether internal mixing processes have taken place in these stars. We used high-resolution spectra with a high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) to carry out a spectral synthesis to derive detailed C, N, O, and Li abundances for a sample of stars with metallicities in the range of$-$3.58 leq Fe/H leq $-$1.79\,dex. Our study was based on the assumption of one-dimensional (1D) local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) atmospheres. Based on carbon and nitrogen abundances, we investigated the deep mixing taking place within stars along the red giant branch (RGB). The individual abundances of carbon decrease towards the upper RGB while nitrogen shows an increasing trend, indicating that carbon has been converted into nitrogen. No signatures of ON-cycle processed material were found for the stars in our sample. We computed a set of galactic chemical evolution (GCE) models, implementing different sets of massive star yields, both with and without including the effects of stellar rotation on nucleosynthesis. We confirm that stellar rotation is necessary to explain the highest N/Fe and N/O ratios observed in unmixed halo stars. The predicted level of N enhancement varies sensibly in dependence of the specific set of yields that are adopted. For stars with stellar parameters similar to those of our sample, heavy elements such as Sr, Y, and Zr appear to have unchanged abundances despite the stellar evolution mixing processes. The unmixed RGB stars provide very useful constraints on chemical evolution models of the Galaxy. As they are more luminous than unevolved (main sequence and turnoff) stars, they also allow for stars to be probed at greater distances. The stellar CN-cycle clearly changes the atmospheric abundances of the lighter elements, but no changes were detected with respect to the heavy elements.

Primordial Lithium from Globular Cluster Turnoff Stars: M13 and M71

During Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) in the first 15 minutes of the Universe, some 7Li was created along with isotopes of H and He. The determination of that primordial value of Li can help constrain the conditions at that time. The oldest stars with known ages can be found in globular clusters which have well-determined ages through stellar evolution models. High-resolution spectra of Li have been obtained with the Keck I Telescope and HIRES in several unevolved stars in the clusters M13 and M71 with V magnitudes of 17.6–17.9. Abundances of Li have been determined with spectrum synthesis techniques and show a range of a factor of 4. We attribute that spread to differences in initial angular momentum resulting in different amounts of spin-down, related mixing, and destruction of Li. Our results are compared with similar results for main-sequence and turnoff stars in other globular clusters. The range in age of these clusters is 11.2–14.2 Gyr for an age span of 3 Gyr. These clusters range in [Fe/H] from −0.75 to −2.24 corresponding to a factor of 30 in metallicity. The maximum in the Li abundance for these unevolved stars in all eight clusters is the same corresponding to Li/H = 3.16 × 10−10, while the predicted Li abundance, based on the deuterium abundance and the BBN predictions, is 5.24 × 10−10.

Li Evolution among Stars of Low/Intermediate Mass: the Metal-deficient Open Cluster NGC 2204

We have analyzed high-dispersion spectra in the Li 6708 Å region for 167 stars within the anticenter cluster NGC 2204. From 105 probable members, abundance analysis of 45 evolved stars produces [Fe/H] = −0.40 ± 0.12, [Si/Fe] = 0.14 ± 0.12, [Ca/Fe] = 0.29 ± 0.07, and [Ni/Fe] = −0.12 ± 0.10, where quoted errors are standard deviations. With E(B − V) = 0.07 and (m − M)0 = 13.12, appropriate isochrones provide an excellent match from the main sequence through the tip of the giant branch for an age of 1.85 ± 0.05 Gyr. Li spectrum synthesis produces A(Li) below 1.4 at the base of the red giant branch to a detectable value of −0.4 at the tip. Six probable asymptotic giant branch stars and all but one red clump star have only Li upper limits. A rapidly rotating red giant is identified as a possible Li-rich giant, assuming it is a red clump star. Main-sequence turnoff stars have a well-defined A(Li) = 2.83 ± 0.03 (sem) down to the Li-dip wall at the predicted mass of 1.29 M ☉. Despite having the same isochronal age as the more metal-rich NGC 2506, the luminosity distribution of red giants reflects a younger morphology similar to NGC 7789, possibly indicating a deeper impact of metallicity on stellar structure and A(Li) than previously assumed. As in NGC 2506 and NGC 7789, the NGC 2204 turnoff exhibits a broad range of rotation speeds, making abundance estimation impossible for some stars. The place of the cluster within Galactic A(Li) evolution is discussed.

Gaia22dkvLb: A Microlensing Planet Potentially Accessible to Radial-velocity Characterization

We report discovering an exoplanet from following up a microlensing event alerted by Gaia. The event Gaia22dkv is toward a disk source rather than the traditional bulge microlensing fields. Our primary analysis yields a Jovian planet with Mp=0.59−0.05+0.15MJ at a projected orbital separation r⊥=1.4−0.3+0.8 au, and the host is a ∼1.1 M ⊙ turnoff star at ∼1.3 kpc. At r′≈14 , the host is far brighter than any previously discovered microlensing planet host, opening up the opportunity to test the microlensing model with radial velocity (RV) observations. RV data can be used to measure the planet’s orbital period and eccentricity, and they also enable searching for inner planets of the microlensing cold Jupiter, as expected from the “inner–outer correlation” inferred from Kepler and RV discoveries. Furthermore, we show that Gaia astrometric microlensing will not only allow precise measurements of its angular Einstein radius θ E but also directly measure the microlens parallax vector and unambiguously break a geometric light-curve degeneracy, leading to the definitive characterization of the lens system.

The wave-like disc oscillations of mono-age stellar populations in the Solar neighbourhood from Gaia DR3

ABSTRACT The North–South asymmetry in the number density and bulk velocity of stars in the Solar neighbourhood provides valuable insights into the formation and evolution of the Milky Way disc. Our objective is to investigate the wave-like disc oscillations of mono-age stellar populations in the Solar neighbourhood using data from Gaia Data Release 3. We have selected a comprehensive sample of main-sequence turn-off stars. The ages of these stars can be accurately determined using isochrone fitting methods. Our findings indicate that the North–South density and mean vertical velocity asymmetries remain consistent across all age groups. The uniformity of perturbations across all subsamples suggests that all populations are responding to the same external influence, which likely affects them irrespective of their age. Moreover, the fact that these perturbations appear consistently implies they could be either ongoing or recent. Regarding vertical velocity dispersions, we observe that older stars exhibit larger dispersions.

Search for giant planets in M 67 V: A warm Jupiter orbiting the turn-off star S1429

Context. Planets orbiting members of open or globular clusters offer a great opportunity to study exoplanet populations systematically, as stars within clusters provide a mostly homogeneous sample, at least in chemical composition and stellar age. However, even though there have been coordinated efforts to search for exoplanets in stellar clusters, only a small number of planets have been detected. One successful example is the seven-year radial velocity (RV) survey ‘Search for giant planets in M 67’ of 88 stars in the open cluster M 67, which led to the discovery of five giant planets, including three close-in (P < 10 days) hot-Jupiters. Aims. In this work, we continue and extend the observation of stars in M 67, with the aim being to search for additional planets. Methods. We conducted spectroscopic observations with the Habitable Planet Finder (HPF), HARPS, HARPS-North, and SOPHIE spectrographs of 11 stars in M 67. Six of our targets showed a variation or long-term trends in their RV during the original survey, while the other five were not observed in the original sample, bringing the total number of stars to 93. Results. An analysis of the RVs reveals one additional planet around the turn-off point star S1429 and provides solutions for the orbits of stellar companions around S2207 and YBP2018. S1429 b is a warm-Jupiter on a likely circular orbit with a period of $\[\77.48_{-0.19}^{+0.18}\]$ days and a minimum mass of M sin i = 1.80 ± 0.2 MJ. We update the hot-Jupiter occurrence rate in M 67 to include the five new stars, deriving $\[\4.2_{-2.3}^{+4.1} \%\]$ when considering all stars, and $\[\5.4_{-3.0}^{+5.1} \%\]$ if binary star systems are removed.

New evidence of binarity in young α-rich turn-off and subgiant stars: fast rotation and strong magnetic activity

ABSTRACT Young α-rich (YAR) stars within the old Galactic thick disc exhibit a dual characteristic of relative youth determined with asteroseismology and abundance enhancement in α elements measured from high-resolution spectroscopy. The youth origin of YAR stars has been proposed to be binary evolution via mass transfer or stellar mergers. If that is the case, YAR stars should spin rapidly and thus be magnetically active, because they are mass and angular momentum gainers. In this study, to seek this binary footprint, we select YAR stars on the main-sequence turn-off or the subgiant branch (MSTO-SGB) from APOGEE DR17, whose ages and projected rotation velocities (vsin i) can be precisely measured. With APOGEE vsin i and LAMOST spectra, we find that YAR stars are indeed fast rotators and magnetically active. In addition, we observe low [C/N] ratios and high Gaia RUWE in some YAR stars, suggesting that these MSTO-SGB stars probably have experienced mass transfer from red-giant companions. Our findings underscore that magnetic activity can serve as a valuable tool for probing the binary evolution for other chemically peculiar stars, such as red giants with lithium anomalies and carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars.

Chemical clocks and their time zones: understanding the [s/Mg]–age relation with birth radii

ABSTRACT The relative enrichment of s-process to α-elements ([s/α]) has been linked with age, providing a potentially useful avenue in exploring the Milky Way’s chemical evolution. However, the age–[s/α] relationship is non-universal, with dependencies on metallicity and current location in the Galaxy. In this work, we examine these chemical clock tracers across birth radii (${R}_\text{birth}$), recovering the inherent trends between the variables. We derive ${R}_\text{birth}$ and explore the [s/α]–age–${R}_\text{birth}$ relationship for 36 652 APOGEE DR17 red giant and 24 467 GALAH DR3 main-sequence turn-off and subgiant branch disc stars using [Ce/Mg], [Ba/Mg], and [Y/Mg]. We discover that the age–$\rm [{\it s}/Mg]$ relation is strongly dependent on birth location in the Milky Way, with stars born in the inner disc having the weakest correlation. This is congruent with the Galaxy’s initially weak, negative $\rm [{\it s}/Mg]$ radial gradient, which becomes positive and steep with time. We show that the non-universal relations of chemical clocks is caused by their fundamental trends with ${R}_\text{birth}$ over time, and suggest that the tight age–$\rm [{\it s}/Mg]$ relation obtained with solar-like stars is due to similar ${R}_\text{birth}$ for a given age. Our results are put into context with a Galactic chemical evolution model, where we demonstrate the need for data-driven nucleosynthetic yields.

Study of Blue Metal-poor Stars Using UVIT/AstroSat

Blue metal-poor stars are main-sequence stars that are bluer and brighter than typical turn-off stars in metal-poor globular clusters. They are thought to have either evolved through post-mass transfer mechanisms as field blue straggler stars or have accreted from Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxies. It has been found that a considerable fraction of blue metal poor stars are binaries, possibly with a compact companion. We observed 27 blue metal poor stars using UV imaging telescope of AstroSat in two far-UV filters, F148W and F169M. In this work, we explain the possible formation channels of two stars, BMP17 and BMP37. We fit BMP17 to a single-component spectral energy distribution whereas BMP37 with a binary-component spectral energy distribution. As both of them are known SB1s, we suggest that the WD companion of BMP17 may have cooled down so that it is out of UV imaging telescope detection limit. On the other hand, we discover a normal mass white dwarf as the hot companion of BMP37, indicating mass transfer as the possible formation channel.

200 000 candidate very metal-poor stars in Gaia DR3 XP spectra

ABSTRACT Very metal-poor stars ($\rm [Fe/H] \lt -2$) in the Milky Way are fossil records of early chemical evolution and the assembly and structure of the Galaxy. However, they are rare and hard to find. Gaia DR3 has provided over 200 million low-resolution (R ≈ 50) XP spectra, which provides an opportunity to greatly increase the number of candidate metal-poor stars. In this work, we utilize the XGBoost classification algorithm to identify ∼200 000 very metal-poor star candidates. Compared to past work, we increase the candidate metal-poor sample by about an order of magnitude, with comparable or better purity than past studies. First, we develop three classifiers for bright stars (BP < 16). They are Classifier-T (for Turn-off stars), Classifier-GC (for Giant stars with high completeness), and Classifier-GP (for Giant stars with high purity) with expected purity of 52 per cent/45 per cent/76 per cent and completeness of 32 per cent/93 per cent/66 per cent, respectively. These three classifiers obtained a total of 11 000/111 000/44 000 bright metal-poor candidates. We apply model-T and model-GP on faint stars (BP > 16) and obtain 38 000/41 000 additional metal-poor candidates with purity 29 per cent/52 per cent, respectively. We make our metal-poor star catalogues publicly available, for further exploration of the metal-poor Milky Way.

Linking the Metallicity Enrichment History to the Star Formation History: An SFH-regulated Chemical Evolution Model and Its Implications for the Gas Cycling Process

The metallicity enrichment history (MEH) of a galaxy is determined by its star formation history (SFH) and the gas cycling process. In this paper, we construct a chemical evolution model that is regulated by the SFH of the system. In this SFH-regulated model, the evolution of all other variables, including the MEH, can be determined by the SFH. We test this model on six locally isolated dwarf galaxies covering three dwarf types that were observed by the Local Cosmology from Isolated Dwarfs (LCID) project. The SFHs and MEHs of these LCID galaxies are relatively reliable because they have been measured from deep color–magnitude diagrams that reach the main-sequence turnoff stars with good photometric accuracy. With simple assumptions of the star formation law and the mass-dependent outflows, our SFH-regulated model successfully reproduces the MEHs of all six LCID galaxies from their SFHs, with only one free parameter, the wind efficiency η ∼ 1.0, for all six galaxies. This model provides a physically motivated link that directly connects the SFH and MEH of a galaxy, which will be useful to accommodate into the state-of-the-art stellar population synthesis models to help relieve the nuisance of the heavy degeneracy between the ages and metallicities of the stellar populations.

M67 Blue Stragglers with High-resolution Infrared Spectroscopy

We report on the first detailed infrared chemical analysis of five binary members (S277, S997, S975, S1031, and S1195) in the open cluster M67 (NGC 2682). These stars are located outside (bluer and/or brighter than) the main-sequence turnoff region in M67. High-resolution (R ∼ 45,000) near-infrared spectra were obtained with the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) at the McDonald Observatory 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith Telescope, providing full spectral coverage of the H and K bands. The abundances of C, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Fe, and Ni are measured using neutral atomic absorption lines. We detect v sin i ≥ 25 km s−1 in three of our program stars: S1031, S975, and S1195. We find our derived abundances to be in good agreement with turnoff star abundances, similar to published analyses of blue straggler stars in M67 from optical spectra. Detection of a carbon enhancement or depletion resulting from mass transfer is difficult due to the uncertainties in the carbon abundance and the relatively modest changes that may occur through red giant and asymptotic giant branch evolution.

Determination of dynamical ages of open clusters through the A+ parameter – II

ABSTRACT Blue straggler stars (BSS), one of the most massive members of star clusters, have been used for over a decade to investigate mass segregation and estimate the dynamical ages of globular clusters (GCs) and open clusters (OCs). This work is an extension of our previous study, in which we investigated a correlation between theoretically estimated dynamical ages and the observed $A^+_{\mathrm{rh}}$ values, which represent the sedimentation level of BSS with respect to the reference population. Here, we use the ML-MOC algorithm on Gaia EDR3 data to extend this analysis to 23 OCs. Using cluster properties and identified members, we estimate their dynamical and physical parameters. In order to estimate the $A^+_{\mathrm{rh}}$ values, we use the main sequence and main sequence turnoff stars as the reference population. OCs are observed to exhibit a wide range of degrees of dynamical evolution, ranging from dynamically young to late stages of intermediate dynamical age. Hence, we classify OCs into three distinct dynamical stages based on their relationship to $A^+_{\mathrm{rh}}$ and Nrelax. NGC 2682 and King 2 are discovered to be the most evolved OCs, like Family III GCs, while Berkeley 18 is the least evolved OC. Melotte 66 and Berkeley 31 are peculiar OCs because none of their dynamical and physical parameters correlate with their BSS segregation levels.

Lithium in Turnoff Stars in the Globular Cluster M5: A Quest for Primordial Lithium

The light element lithium is formed by nucleosynthesis during the Big Bang. Its abundance can help to define the parameters of the early Universe. To find this primordial value, it is necessary to determine Li abundances in the oldest stars because it is readily destroyed by nuclear reactions in stellar interiors. We have made high-resolution (∼45,000) spectroscopic observations of five identical unevolved turnoff stars in the 13 Gyr old globular cluster M5. In our analysis we find a range in Li abundance of a factor of 2; the spread is 5 times the individual error. The comparison of these results with those for turnoff stars from five other globular clusters reveals a similarly large range in Li. Lithium in M5 and the other clusters all have stars above the field star Li plateau, but none are as high as the predictions for primordial Li. The maximum values for Li are the same in all six clusters. Multiple generations of stars are found in many globular clusters; those later generations are expected to have formed from Li-depleted gas. Such second- and later-generation stars would have no Li. However, only one of the six clusters has a few unevolved stars with upper limits on the Li abundance.

Field blue straggler stars: discovery of white dwarf companions to blue metal-poor stars using UVIT/AstroSat

ABSTRACT Blue metal-poor (BMP) stars are the main-sequence stars that appear bluer and more luminous than normal turn-off stars of metal-poor globular clusters. They are believed to be either field blue straggler stars (FBSS) formed via post-mass transfer mechanism or accreted from dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. A significant fraction of BMP stars are discovered to be potential binaries. We observed 27 BMP stars using UVIT/AstroSat in two FUV filters, F148W and F169M. We report the discovery of white dwarf (WD) companions of 12 BMP stars for the first time. The WD companions have estimated temperatures Teff ∼10 500–18 250 K, and masses 0.17–0.8 M⊙. Based on [Fe/H] and space velocity, we group the 12 BMP/FBSS stars as the thick disc (5) and halo (5), whereas two stars appear to be in-between. All the 5 thick disc BMP/FBSS have extremely low-mass (M < 0.2 M⊙) WDs as companions, whereas the 5 halo BMP/FBSS have low (0.2 M⊙ < M < 0.4 M⊙), normal (0.4 M⊙ < M < 0.6 M⊙), and high mass (M > 0.6 M⊙) WD companions. Our analysis suggests that at least ∼44 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of BMP stars are FBSS, and these stars hold the key to understand the details of mass transfer, binary properties, and chemical enrichment among the FBSS.

HALO7D. III. Chemical Abundances of Milky Way Halo Stars from Medium-resolution Spectra

The Halo Assembly in Lambda Cold Dark Matter: Observations in 7 Dimensions (HALO7D) survey measures the kinematics and chemical properties of stars in the Milky Way (MW) stellar halo to learn about the formation of our Galaxy. HALO7D consists of Keck II/DEIMOS spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope–measured proper motions of MW halo main-sequence turnoff stars in the four Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey fields. HALO7D consists of deep pencil beams, making it complementary to other contemporary wide-field surveys. We present the [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] abundances for 113 HALO7D stars in the Galactocentric radial range of ∼10–40 kpc along four separate pointings. Using the full 7D chemodynamical data (3D positions, 3D velocities, and abundances) of HALO7D, we measure the velocity anisotropy, β, of the halo velocity ellipsoid for each field and for different metallicity-binned subsamples. We find that two of the four fields have stars on very radial orbits, while the remaining two have stars on more isotropic orbits. Separating the stars into high-, mid-, and low-[Fe/H] bins at −2.2 and −1.1 dex for each field separately, we find differences in the anisotropies between the fields and between the bins; some fields appear dominated by radial orbits in all bins, while other fields show variation between the [Fe/H] bins. These chemodynamical differences are evidence that the HALO7D fields have different fractional contributions from the progenitors that built up the MW stellar halo. Our results highlight the additional information available on smaller spatial scales compared to results from a spherical average of the stellar halo.

Sodium Abundances in Very Metal-poor Stars

Chemical composition of very metal-poor (VMP) stars can provide observational constraints on current models of nucleosynthesis and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. It has been found that the scatter of [Na/Fe] versus [Fe/H] in VMP stars is very large in contrast with most other elements. Moreover, a negative slope in [Na/Fe] versus [Fe/H] was found for giants, which is very unlikely according to the theory of nucleosynthesis. For the sample of 93 VMP stars in the metallicity range −4.25 < [Fe/H] < −1.64 we obtained NLTE sodium abundances using the line profile fitting method by employing accurate atmospheric parameters determined when taking into account NLTE line formation for both Fe i and Fe ii. Originally selected from the LAMOST low-resolution spectral database, the spectra of stars were obtained with the High Dispersion Spectrograph of the Subaru Telescope. For 57 turn-off stars in metallicity domain −3.04 < [Fe/H] < −1.64, we obtained mean [Na/Fe] = −0.29 ± 0.14 and positive slope 0.09 ± 0.06. For 21 giants distributed over metallicity −3.59 < [Fe/H] < −2.19, we found mean [Na/Fe] = −0.35 ± 0.1 and positive slope 0.07 ± 0.07. Our [Na/Fe] trend is lower by ∼0.2 dex, compared to the modern GCE model. We believe the GCE model should be adjusted, by considering the associated scatter. Twelve stars in our sample are found to be outliers, with too low or too high Na abundances.

Characterizing abundance–age relations of GALAH stars using oxygen-enhanced stellar models

ABSTRACT Main-sequence turn-off (MSTO) stars and subgiant stars are good tracers of Galactic populations. We present a study of 41 034 MSTO and subgiant stars from the GALAH survey. Using a grid of stellar models that accounts for the variation of O abundances, we determine their ages with a median age uncertainty of ∼9.4 per cent. Our analysis reveals that the ages of high-O stars based on O-enhanced models are smaller than those determined with α-enhanced models, resulting in a mean fractional age difference of −5.3 per cent at [O/α] = 0.2 and −11.0 per cent at [O/α] = 0.4. This age difference significantly impacts the age distribution of thick disc and halo stars, leading to a steeper downward trend in the [Fe/H]–age plane from 8 to 14 Gyr, indicating a shorter formation time-scale and a faster chemical-enhanced history for these populations. We confirm the V-shape of the normalized age-metallicity distribution p(τ∣[Fe/H]) of thin disc stars, which is presumably a consequence of the second gas infall. Additionally, we find that the halo stars in our sample can be divided into two sequences, a metal-rich sequence (Splash stars) and a metal-poor sequence (accreted stars), with the Splash stars predominantly older than 9 Gyr and the accreted halo stars older than 10 Gyr. Finally, we observe two distinct sequences in the relations between various chemical abundances and ages for disc stars, namely a young sequence with ages &amp;lt; ∼8 Gyr and an old sequence with ages &amp;gt; ∼8 Gyr.

StarHorse results for spectroscopic surveys and Gaia DR3: Chrono-chemical populations in the solar vicinity, the genuine thick disk, and young alpha-rich stars

The Gaia mission has provided an invaluable wealth of astrometric data for more than a billion stars in our Galaxy. The synergy between Gaia astrometry, photometry, and spectroscopic surveys gives us comprehensive information about the Milky Way. Using the Bayesian isochrone-fitting code StarHorse, we derive distances and extinctions for more than 10 million unique stars listed in both Gaia Data Release 3 and public spectroscopic surveys: 557 559 in GALAH+ DR3, 4 531 028 in LAMOST DR7 LRS, 347 535 in LAMOST DR7 MRS, 562 424 in APOGEE DR17, 471 490 in RAVE DR6, 249 991 in SDSS DR12 (optical spectra from BOSS and SEGUE), 67 562 in the Gaia-ESO DR5 survey, and 4 211 087 in the Gaia RVS part of the Gaia DR3 release. StarHorse can increase the precision of distance and extinction measurements where Gaia parallaxes alone would be uncertain. We used StarHorse for the first time to derive stellar ages for main-sequence turnoff and subgiant branch stars, around 2.5 million stars, with age uncertainties typically around 30%; the uncertainties drop to 15% for subgiant-branch-only stars, depending on the resolution of the survey. With the derived ages in hand, we investigated the chemical-age relations. In particular, the α and neutron-capture element ratios versus age in the solar neighbourhood show trends similar to previous works, validating our ages. We used the chemical abundances from local subgiant samples of GALAH DR3, APOGEE DR17, and LAMOST MRS DR7 to map groups with similar chemical compositions and StarHorse ages, using the dimensionality reduction technique t-SNE and the clustering algorithm HDBSCAN. We identify three distinct groups in all three samples, confirmed by their kinematic properties: the genuine chemical thick disk, the thin disk, and a considerable number of young alpha-rich stars (427) that are also a part of the delivered catalogues. We confirm that the genuine thick disk’s kinematics and age properties are radically different from those of the thin disk and compatible with high-redshift (z ≈ 2) star-forming disks with high dispersion velocities. We also find a few extra chemical populations in GALAH DR3 thanks to the availability of neutron-capture element information.

Phase-space Properties and Chemistry of the Sagittarius Stellar Stream Down to the Extremely Metal-poor ([Fe/H] ≲ −3) Regime

In this work, we study the phase-space and chemical properties of the Sagittarius (Sgr) stream, the tidal tails produced by the ongoing destruction of the Sgr dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy, focusing on its very metal-poor (VMP; [Fe/H] < −2) content. We combine spectroscopic and astrometric information from SEGUE and Gaia EDR3, respectively, with data products from a new large-scale run of the StarHorse spectrophotometric code. Our selection criteria yield ∼1600 stream members, including >200 VMP stars. We find the leading arm (b > 0°) of the Sgr stream to be more metal-poor, by ∼0.2 dex, than the trailing one (b < 0°). With a subsample of turnoff and subgiant stars, we estimate this substructure’s stellar population to be ∼1 Gyr older than the thick disk’s. With the aid of an N-body model of the Sgr system, we verify that simulated particles stripped earlier (>2 Gyr ago) have present-day phase-space properties similar to lower metallicity stream stars. Conversely, those stripped more recently (<2 Gyr) are preferentially akin to metal-rich ([Fe/H] > −1) members of the stream. Such correlation between kinematics and chemistry can be explained by the existence of a dynamically hotter, less centrally concentrated, and more metal-poor population in Sgr dSph prior to its disruption, implying that this galaxy was able to develop a metallicity gradient before its accretion. Finally, we identified several carbon-enhanced metal-poor ([C/Fe] > +0.7 and [Fe/H] ≤ −1.5) stars in the Sgr stream, which might be in tension with current observations of its remaining core where such objects are not found.