Dissecting the Chemodynamics of Stellar Populations in M31 with APOGEE-2
Abstract
Just as petroglyphs on a rock face preserve details about the history of ancient peoples, the chemodynamics of a galaxy's stars provide a fossil record of the eovlution of that galaxy. For example, the Milky Way's stars show correlations between alpha enhancement and kinematics that may hold clues to the formation of the thin and thick disks. Using high resolution (R~22,500) infrared spectroscopy from SDSS IV's APOGEE-2 project, we investigate these properites and the presence of this correlation in our closest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Using template-fitting with a custom library of simple stellar population spectra, we map the stellar dynamics throughout the galaxy's inner region. We also present results from an analysis of composite populations in M31's disk, including of kinematic differences between populations with different mean metallicity and alpha enhancement. This study provides insight into the uniqueness of M31 and the Milky Way's evolutionary histories.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23326011C