The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Thomas Bensby. Profile photo.

Thomas Bensby

Senior lecturer

Thomas Bensby. Profile photo.

The COMBS survey – I. Chemical origins of metal-poor stars in the Galactic bulge

Author

  • Madeline Lucey
  • Keith Hawkins
  • Melissa Ness
  • Martin Asplund
  • Thomas Bensby
  • Luca Casagrande
  • Sofia Feltzing
  • Kenneth C. Freeman
  • Chiaki Kobayashi
  • Anna F. Marino

Summary, in English

Chemistry and kinematic studies can determine the origins of stellar population across the Milky Way. The metallicity distribution function of the bulge indicates that it comprises multiple populations, the more metal-poor end of which is particularly poorly understood. It is currently unknown if metal-poor bulge stars ([Fe/H] <−1 dex) are part of the stellar halo in the inner most region, or a distinct bulge population or a combination of these. Cosmological simulations also indicate that the metal-poor bulge stars may be the oldest stars in the Galaxy. In this study, we successfully target metal-poor bulge stars selected using SkyMapper photometry. We determine the stellar parameters of 26 stars and their elemental abundances for 22 elements using R∼ 47 000 VLT/UVES spectra and contrast their elemental properties with that of other Galactic stellar populations. We find that the elemental abundances we derive for our metal-poor bulge stars have lower overall scatter than typically found in the halo. This indicates that these stars may be a distinct population confined to the bulge. If these stars are, alternatively, part of the innermost distribution of the halo, this indicates that the halo is more chemically homogeneous at small Galactic radii than at large radii. We also find two stars whose chemistry is consistent with second-generation globular cluster stars. This paper is the first part of the Chemical Origins of Metal-poor Bulge Stars (COMBS) survey that will chemodynamically characterize the metal-poor bulge population.

Department/s

  • Lund Observatory - Undergoing reorganization

Publishing year

2019

Language

English

Pages

2283-2300

Publication/Series

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Volume

488

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Keywords

  • Galaxy: bulge
  • Galaxy: evolution
  • Stars: abundances
  • Stars: Population II

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1365-2966