On the Galactic Disk Metallicity Distribution from Open Clusters. I. New Catalogs and Abundance Gradient

By L. Chen, J. Hou, J. J. Wang. 2002

216 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We have compiled two new open cluster catalogs. In the first one, there are 119 objects with ages, distances, and metallicities available, while in the second one, 144 objects have both absolute proper motion and radial velocity data, of which 45 clusters also have metallicity data available. Taking advantage of the large number of objects included in our sample, we present an iron radial gradient of about -0.063 ± 0.008 dex kpc-1 from the first sample, which is quite consistent with the most recent determination of the oxygen gradient from nebulae and young stars, about -0.07 dex kpc-1. By dividing clusters into age groups, we show that the iron gradient was steeper in the past, which is consistent with the recent result from Galactic planetary nebulae data, and also consistent with inside-out galactic disk formation scenarios. Based on the cluster sample, we also discuss the metallicity distribution, cluster kinematics, and space distribution. A disk age-metallicity relation could be implied by those properties, although we cannot give conclusive result from the age- metallicity diagram based on the current sample. More observations are needed for metal-poor clusters. From the second catalog, we have calculated the velocity components in cylindrical coordinates with respect to the Galactic standard of rest for 144 open clusters. The velocity dispersions of the older clusters are larger than those of young clusters, but they are all much smaller than that of the Galactic thick disk stars.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/77bc7f7fbe87052997188e82211951543622e4f8

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Astronomy and Astrophysics

In Instrumentation

Citations in the corpus

Metallicity gradients in disks - Do galaxies form inside-out? (2012, result): “…the Milky Way’s thin disk, though, are consistently much steeper (where many authors find the thin disk gradient to be between ∼−0.25 − ∼−0.35 dex/kpc (e.g. Soubiran et al. 2008; Marsakov & Borkova 2006; Bartašiūtė et al. 2003; Chen et al. 2003)) than the results we obtain from our simulations.”
The lifetimes of spiral patterns in disc galaxies (2010, result): “However, there seems to be general agreement that there is a spread of metallicities at each age, which is also supported by other studies (Chen et al. 2003; Haywood 2008; Stanghellini & Haywood 2010).”
LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) — The survey's science plan (2012, background): “…and dynamical evolution of the Galactic disk; meanwhile, their[M/H] values serve as excellent tracers of the abundance gradient along the Galactic disk, as well as many other important disk properties, including the age-metallicity relation (AMR) and abundance gradientevolution (Chen et al. 2003).”
THE STELLAR POPULATION STRUCTURE OF THE GALACTIC DISK (2015, background): “Radial population changes in the Galactic disk have traditionally been characterized by a metallicity gradient, taking at each radius the mean over the complex abundance distribution (e.g., Audouze & Tinsley 1976; Chen et al. 2003; Anders et al. 2014; Hayden et al. 2014).”
The initial–final mass relationship of white dwarfs revisited: effect on the luminosity function and mass distribution (2008, methodology): “The age of the Pleiades is 125±8 Myr according to Rebolo, Martin & Magazzu (1992) and it has a metallicity of [Fe/H]= −0.03 (Chen et al. 2003).”
Stellar Abundance and Galactic Chemical Evolution through LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey (2006, background): “Recently, Chen et al. (2003) have compiled a most complete open cluster sample with metallicities, ages, and distance data, as well as kinematic information available, from which an iron radial gradient of about 0.063± 0.008 dex kpc−1 is derived.”
Vertical distribution of Galactic disk stars , IV. AMR and AVR from clump giants (2007, unknown): “Using open clusters, Piatti et al. (1995) find -0.34 dex kpc−1 whereas Carraro et al. (1998) measure -0.25 dex kpc−1 and Chen et al. (2003) measure −0.295 ± 0.050 dex kpc−1.”
A New Planet around an M Dwarf: Revealing a Correlation between Exoplanets and Stellar Mass (2007, background): “Similarly, open clusters with comparable ages also exhibit a wide range of metallicities, with 3 to 6 Gyr clusters differing by as much as 0.82 dex (e.g. Chen et al. 2003).”
New calibrations for abundance determinations in H ii regions (2016, background): “…abundance gradients, which in turn hold clues about galaxy evolution (e.g., Searle 1971; Janes 1979; Maciel & Quireza 1999; Harbeck et al. 2001; Andrievsky et al. 2002; Chen et al. 2003; Mehlert et al. 2003; Cioni 2009; Haschke et al. 2012; Boeche et al. 2013, 2014; Pilyugin et al. 2014, 2015).”
CHEMICAL CARTOGRAPHY WITH APOGEE: LARGE-SCALE MEAN METALLICITY MAPS OF THE MILKY WAY DISK (2013, methodology): “Previous studies for similar populations of stars measure slightly steeper slopes of −0.295±0.005 dex kpc−1 (Chen et al. 2003), −0.23 ± 0.04 dex kpc−1 (Bartašiūtė et al. 2003), and −0.29 ± 0.06 dex kpc−1 (Marsakov & Borkova 2006).”