Kinematical & Chemical Characteristics of the Thin and Thick Disks

TL;DR

This paper examines the chemical, kinematic, and age differences between the Milky Way's thin and thick disks to infer the galaxy's merger history, suggesting a relatively quiet past contrary to some cosmological models.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of stellar properties in the Galaxy's disks to understand its merger history, challenging common cosmological assumptions.

Findings

Evidence indicates a quiescent merger history for the Milky Way.

Chemical and kinematic data differentiate the thin and thick disks.

Results contrast with the typical expectations from cold-dark-matter cosmology.

Abstract

I discuss how the chemical abundance distributions, kinematics and age distributions of stars in the thin and thick disks of the Galaxy can be used to decipher the merger history of the Milky Way, a typical large galaxy. The observational evidence points to a rather quiescent past merging history, unusual in the context of the `consensus' cold-dark-matter cosmology favoured from observations of structure on scales larger than individual galaxies.