In:
The Astrophysical Journal, American Astronomical Society, Vol. 952, No. 1 ( 2023-07-01), p. 66-
Abstract:
We continue our series of papers on phase-space distributions of stars in the Milky Way based on photometrically derived metallicities and Gaia astrometry, with a focus on the halo−disk interface in the local volume. To exploit various photometric databases, we develop a method of empirically calibrating synthetic stellar spectra based on a comparison with observations of stellar sequences and individual stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the SkyMapper Sky Survey, and the Pan-STARRS1 surveys, overcoming band-specific corrections employed in our previous work. In addition, photometric zero-point corrections are derived to provide an internally consistent photometric system with a spatially uniform metallicity zero-point. Using our phase-space diagrams, we find a remarkably narrow sequence in the rotational velocity ( v ϕ ) versus metallicity ([Fe/H]) space for a sample of high proper-motion stars ( 〉 25 mas yr −1 ), which runs along Gaia Sausage/Enceladus (GSE) and the Splash substructures and is linked to the disk, spanning nearly 2 dex in [Fe/H]. Notably, a rapid increase of v ϕ from a nearly zero net rotation to ∼180 km s −1 in a narrow metallicity interval (−0.6 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ −0.4) suggests that some of these stars emerged quickly on a short gas-depletion timescale. Through measurements of a scale height and length, we argue that these stars are distinct from those heated dynamically by mergers. This chain of high proper-motion stars provides additional support for recent discoveries suggesting that a starburst took place when the young Milky Way encountered the gas-rich GSE progenitor, which eventually led to the settling of metal-enriched gas onto the disk.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0004-637X
,
1538-4357
DOI:
10.3847/1538-4357/acd5cb
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
American Astronomical Society
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2207648-7
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1473835-1
SSG:
16,12
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