Co-evolution of the Milky Way high- and low-{\alpha} sequences with chemical evolution models

TL;DR

This study revises the Milky Way's chemical evolution model to include a pre-enriched, delayed second infall, explaining the observed alpha-element abundance patterns and old low-alpha stars through co-evolution phases influenced by extragalactic interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a new version of the parallel chemical evolution model incorporating a pre-enriched, delayed second infall and external galaxy contamination, aligning with recent observational data.

Findings

The model explains the [{eta}/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] diagram from APOGEE DR17.

It accounts for the presence of old low-{eta} stars.

It predicts a short co-evolution phase between the two disc sequences.

Abstract

Observational data have revealed a clear dichotomy in the [{\alpha}/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] diagram of the Milky Way thick and thin disc stars. Many recent studies have shown evidences of a co-evolution phase between the high- and low-{\alpha} disc sequences as well as the presence of very old low-{\alpha} stars. We aim to revise the parallel chemical evolution model that assumes two parallel histories of star formation for the two discs, by considering a pre-enriched delayed second infall episode in our revised scenario. By means of our chemical evolution models, we aim to explore the effects of a phase of co-evolution and the presence of old low-{\alpha} stars, as recently observed. We consider a new version of the parallel scenario for the Milky Way thick and thin disc formation, which consists into two distinct infall episodes of slightly pre-enriched gas. The gas is considered to be extragalactic but possibly contaminated by chemically enriched gas of a massive dwarf galaxy as Gaia-Enceladus, which merged with the Milky Way at least 10 Gyrs ago. Moreover, we test in our model observationally derived star formation histories of kinematically selected thick and thin discs, suggesting that the star formation is triggered by the passages of the Sagittarius galaxy. Our models can well explain the [{\alpha}/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] diagram from APOGEE DR17. Our revised chemical evolution model with a pre-enriched and delayed (roughly 1 Gyr) second infall episode, explains not only the abundance patterns of high- and low-{\alpha} stars but also stellar age distributions for the selected observational sample. We predict a short co-evolution period in between the two phases and we can explain the observed old low-{\alpha} stars, but still further data for precise stellar ages would be needed to put more stringent constraints on their physical nature.