The chemical evolution of Manganese in different stellar systems

TL;DR

This study models the manganese to iron ratio evolution in three stellar systems, demonstrating that metallicity-dependent yields from type Ia supernovae are essential to match observational data across different environments.

Contribution

It introduces a chemical evolution model that incorporates metallicity-dependent type Ia supernova yields to explain manganese evolution in diverse stellar systems.

Findings

Metallicity-dependent type Ia SN Mn yields are necessary.

Different star formation histories alone cannot explain [Mn/Fe] variations.

Models successfully reproduce observed [Mn/Fe] versus [Fe/H] in all three systems.

Abstract

Aims. To model the chemical evolution of manganese relative to iron in three different stellar systems: the solar neighbourhood, the Galactic bulge and the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy, and compare our results with the recent and homogeneous observational data. Methods. We adopt three chemical evolution models well able to reproduce the main properties of the solar vicinity, the galactic Bulge and the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal. Then, we compare different stellar yields in order to identify the best set to match the observational data in these systems. Results. We compute the evolution of manganese in the three systems and we find that in order to reproduce simultaneously the [Mn/Fe] versus [Fe/H] in the Galactic bulge, the solar neighbourhood and Sagittarius, the type Ia SN Mn yield must be metallicity-dependent. Conclusions. We conclude that the different histories of star formation in the three systems are not enough to reproduce the different behaviour of the [Mn/Fe] ratio, unlike the situation for [alpha/Fe]; rather, it is necessary to invoke metallicity-dependent type Ia SN Mn yields, as originally suggested by McWilliam, Rich & Smecker-Hane in 2003.