Lithium and beryllium in the Gaia-Enceladus galaxy. Issue 3 (16th June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Molaro, P; Cescutti, G; Fu, X
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 496:Issue 3(2020)
• Page Start: 2902
• Page End: 2909
• Publication Date: 2020-06-16
• Subjects: stars: abundances -- Galaxy: halo -- Galaxy: stellar content -- galaxies: abundances -- galaxies: individual: Gaia-Enceladus -- primordial nucleosynthesis; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa1653
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Data from Gaia DR2 and The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment surveys revealed a relatively new component in the inner Galactic halo, which is likely the dynamical remnant of a disrupted dwarf galaxy named Gaia-Enceladus that collided with the Milky Way about 10 Gyr ago. This merging event offers an extraordinary opportunity to study chemical abundances of elements in a dwarf galaxy, since they are generally hampered in external galaxies. Here, we focus on 7 Li and 9 Be in dwarf stars that are out of reach even in Local Group galaxies. Searching in GALAH, Gaia-ESO survey and in literature, we found several existing 7 Li abundance determinations of stars belonging to the Gaia-Enceladus galaxy. The 7 Li abundances of stars at the low metallicity end overlap with those of the Galactic halo. These are effective extragalactic 7 Li measurements, which suggest that the 7 Li Spite plateau is universal, as is the cosmological 7 Li problem. We found a 7 Li-rich giant out of 101 stars, which suggests a small percentage similar to that of the Milky Way. We also collect 9 Be abundance for a subsample of 25 Gaia-Enceladus stars from literature. Their abundances share the Galactic [Be/H] values at the low metallicity end but grow slower with [Fe/H] and show a reduced dispersion. This suggests that the scatter observed in the Milky Way could reflect the different 9 Be evolution patterns of different stellar components that are mixed-up in the Galactic halo.