Chemodynamical Simulations of the Milky Way Galaxy

TL;DR

This paper presents chemodynamical simulations of a Milky Way-like galaxy, reproducing its structural, kinematical, and chemical properties, and predicting elemental distributions for comparison with observational data.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent hydrodynamical simulation that models the galaxy's formation and chemical evolution, aligning well with observed properties and providing detailed elemental abundance predictions.

Findings

Bulge formed from early subgalaxy assembly with high [alpha/Fe]

Disk shows constant star formation over 13 Gyr with evolving chemical ratios

Predicted elemental distributions match observational expectations

Abstract

We present chemodynamical simulations of a Milky Way-type galaxy using a self-consistent hydrodynamical code that includes supernova feedback and chemical enrichment, and predict the spatial distribution of elements from Oxygen to Zinc. In the simulated galaxy, the kinematical and chemical properties of the bulge, disk, and halo are consistent with the observations. The bulge formed from the assembly of subgalaxies at z>3, and has higher [alpha/Fe] ratios because of the small contribution from Type Ia Supernovae. The disk formed with a constant star formation over 13 Gyr, and shows a decreasing trend of [alpha/Fe] and increasing trends of [(Na,Al,Cu,Mn)/Fe] against [Fe/H]. However, the thick disk stars tend to have higher [alpha/Fe] and lower [Mn/Fe] than thin disk stars. We also predict the frequency distribution of elemental abundance ratios as functions of time and location, which can be directly compared with galactic archeology projects such as HERMES.