Bibcode
Chou, Mei-Yin; Majewski, Steven; Smith, Verne V.; Cunha, Katia; Patterson, Richard J.; Martinez Delgado, David
Bibliographical reference
NOAO Proposal ID #2006B-0571
Advertised on:
8
2006
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Though it is now clear that accretion of dwarf galaxies likely played a
prominent role in creating the Milky Way (MW) halo, the chemical
abundance patterns of current MW satellites are typically very different
than those of halo stars, and the reason for these differences remains a
matter of speculation. We propose to test the bridge from dwarf galaxy
to halo star directly by exploring chemical trends along the tidal tails
of disrupting dwarf galaxies. Our initial abundance analysis on debris
from the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy has already revealed a
significant [Fe/H] trend along the leading arm from the core to debris
stripped some 2 Gyr ago from the satellite. This trend vividly
demonstrates the origin of differences between current dwarf galaxies
and the stars they contributed to the halo and presents a new method for
mapping the star formation and dynamical histories of galaxies. We
propose to improve our analysis of the Sgr stream by undertaking echelle
resolution observations of stars in the dynamically simpler trailing arm
of Sgr. We also plan to repeat this analysis on the Monoceros
(Mon)/Canis Major/Argo and Tri-And systems to: (1) establish whether Mon
is a satellite tidal stream and not the Galactic warp, (2) test the
putative associations of Canis Major, Argo and Tri- And with Mon, and
(3) search for abundance variations along the Mon stream like those seen
for the Sgr stream.