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The Astrophysical Journal
Article . 2024 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
Data sources: Crossref
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The Astrophysical Journal
Article . 2024
Data sources: DOAJ
https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ar...
Article . 2023
License: arXiv Non-Exclusive Distribution
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The Three-phase Evolution of the Milky Way

Authors: Vedant Chandra; Vadim A. Semenov; Hans-Walter Rix; Charlie Conroy; Ana Bonaca; Rohan P. Naidu; René Andrae; +2 Authors

The Three-phase Evolution of the Milky Way

Abstract

Abstract We illustrate the formation and evolution of the Milky Way over cosmic time, utilizing a sample of 10 million red giant stars with full chemodynamical information, including metallicities and α-abundances from low-resolution Gaia XP spectra. The evolution of angular momentum as a function of metallicity—a rough proxy for stellar age, particularly for high-[α/Fe] stars—displays three distinct phases: the disordered and chaotic protogalaxy, the kinematically hot old disk, and the kinematically cold young disk. The old high-α disk starts at [Fe/H] ≈ −1.0, “spinning up” from the nascent protogalaxy, and then exhibiting a smooth “cooldown” toward more ordered and circular orbits at higher metallicities. The young low-α disk is kinematically cold throughout its metallicity range, with its observed properties modulated by a strong radial gradient. We interpret these trends using Milky Way analogs from the TNG50 cosmological simulation, identifying one that closely matches the kinematic evolution of our galaxy. This halo’s protogalaxy spins up into a relatively thin and misaligned high-α disk at early times, which is subsequently heated and torqued by a major gas-rich merger. The merger contributes a large amount of low-metallicity gas and angular momentum, from which the kinematically cold low-α stellar disk is subsequently born. This simulated history parallels several observed features of the Milky Way, particularly the decisive Gaia–Sausage–Enceladus merger that likely occurred at z ≈ 2. Our results provide an all-sky perspective on the emerging picture of our galaxy’s three-phase formation, impelled by the three physical mechanisms of spinup, merger, and cooldown.

Keywords

QB460-466, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Milky Way disk, FOS: Physical sciences, Milky Way formation, Astrophysics, Milky Way Galaxy, Milky Way dynamics, Milky Way evolution, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
27
Top 10%
Average
Top 10%
Green
gold