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M. M. Brewer, B. W. Carney (UNC-Chapel Hill)
If the Milky Way's thick disk is the antecedent of the thin disk, there should be continuity in the chemical and dynamical evolution. Also, there should be continuity in the chemical evolution as showed through element-to-iron ratios compared to [Fe/H]. Previous results (i.e. Prochaska et al. 2000) suggest that the thick and thin disks do not share a common chemical history. Prior results have compared abundance analyses of thick disk stars with literature values for thin disk stars. We have selected two dozen stars, half from each population, based on kinematics and obtained high-resolution blue and red spectra for stars with similar temperatures. The stars are cool enough that their life expectancies exceed the age of the Galaxy. The stellar metallicities range from solar to one-tenth solar. The stars are analyzed using the same sets of absorption lines so that direct comparision can be made between the thick and thin disks. Abundances of alpha elements as well as s- and r- process elements confirm that the thick and thin disks appear to have experienced independent chemical histories.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.