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Profile picture Diane Feuillet

Diane Feuillet

Researcher

Profile picture Diane Feuillet

APOGEE Chemical Abundance Patterns of the Massive Milky Way Satellites

Author

  • Sten Hasselquist
  • Christian R. Hayes
  • Jianhui Lian
  • David H. Weinberg
  • Gail Zasowski
  • Danny Horta
  • Rachael Beaton
  • Diane K. Feuillet
  • Elisa R. Garro
  • Carme Gallart
  • Verne V. Smith
  • Jon A. Holtzman
  • Dante Minniti
  • Ivan Lacerna
  • Matthew Shetrone
  • Henrik Jönsson
  • Maria Rosa L. Cioni
  • Sean P. Fillingham
  • Katia Cunha
  • Robert O'Connell
  • José G. Fernández-Trincado
  • Ricardo R. Munoz
  • Ricardo Schiavon
  • Andres Almeida
  • Borja Anguiano
  • Timothy C. Beers
  • Dmitry Bizyaev
  • Joel R. Brownstein
  • Roger E. Cohen
  • Peter Frinchaboy
  • D. A. García-Hernández
  • Doug Geisler
  • Richard R. Lane
  • Steven R. Majewski
  • David L. Nidever
  • Christian Nitschelm
  • Joshua Povick
  • Adrian Price-Whelan
  • Alexandre Roman-Lopes
  • Margarita Rosado
  • Jennifer Sobeck
  • Guy Stringfellow
  • Octavio Valenzuela
  • Sandro Villanova
  • Fiorenzo Vincenzo
Show all

Summary, in English

The SDSS-IV Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey has obtained high-resolution spectra for thousands of red giant stars distributed among the massive satellite galaxies of the Milky Way (MW): the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy (Sgr), Fornax (Fnx), and the now fully disrupted Gaia Sausage/Enceladus (GSE) system. We present and analyze the APOGEE chemical abundance patterns of each galaxy to draw robust conclusions about their star formation histories, by quantifying the relative abundance trends of multiple elements (C, N, O, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Fe, Ni, and Ce), as well as by fitting chemical evolution models to the [α/Fe]-[Fe/H] abundance plane for each galaxy. Results show that the chemical signatures of the starburst in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) observed by Nidever et al. in the α-element abundances extend to C+N, Al, and Ni, with the major burst in the SMC occurring some 3-4 Gyr before the burst in the LMC. We find that Sgr and Fnx also exhibit chemical abundance patterns suggestive of secondary star formation epochs, but these events were weaker and earlier (∼5-7 Gyr ago) than those observed in the MCs. There is no chemical evidence of a second starburst in GSE, but this galaxy shows the strongest initial star formation as compared to the other four galaxies. All dwarf galaxies had greater relative contributions of AGB stars to their enrichment than the MW. Comparing and contrasting these chemical patterns highlight the importance of galaxy environment on its chemical evolution.

Department/s

  • Lund Observatory - Has been reorganised

Publishing year

2021-12-20

Language

English

Publication/Series

Astrophysical Journal

Volume

923

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

American Astronomical Society

Topic

  • Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Keywords

  • machine-readable table

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0004-637X