Radial mixing and the transition between the thick and thin Galactic discs

TL;DR

This paper investigates how radial migration influences the metallicity distribution and the transition between the thick and thin Galactic discs, revealing that many low-metallicity thin disc stars are migrators from outer regions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that radial migration explains the metallicity spread and the apparent hiatus between the thick and thin discs, clarifying their evolutionary relationship.

Findings

Low and high metallicity tails originate from outer and inner disc regions.

Radial migration causes high metallicity dispersion in the thin disc.

The true chemical evolution at the solar circle is confined to [-0.2, +0.2] dex.

Abstract

The analysis of the kinematics of solar neighbourhood stars shows that the low and high metallicity tails of the thin disc are populated by objects which orbital properties suggest an origin in the outer and inner galactic disc, respectively. Signatures of radial migration are identified in various recent samples, and are shown to be responsible for the high metallicity dispersion in the age-metallicity distribution. Most importantly, it is shown that the population of low metallicity wanderers of the thin disc (-0.7<[Fe/H]<-0.3 dex) is also responsible for the apparent hiatus in metallicity with the thick disc (which terminal metallicity is about -0.2 dex). It implies that the thin disc at the solar circle has started to form stars at about this same metallicity. This is also consistent with the fact that 'transition' objects, which have alpha-element abundance intermediate between that of the thick and thin discs, are found in the range [-0.4,-0.2] dex. Once the metal-poor thin disc stars are recognised for what they are - wanderers from the outer thin disc - the parenthood between the two discs can be identified on stars genuinely formed at the solar circle through an evolutionary sequence in [alpha/Fe] and [Fe/H] . Another consequence is that stars that can be considered as truly resulting of the chemical evolution at the solar circle have a metallicity restricted to about [-0.2,+0.2] dex, confirming an old idea that most chemical evolution in the Milky Way have preceded the thin disc formation.