The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST
The vertical metallicity gradient of the Galactic disk offers valuable insights into the disk’s formation and chemical evolution over time. We utilized the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope low-resolution spectral young stellar sample to investigate this gradient and found th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adbf93 |
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| author | Gaohuan Long Haibo Yuan Shuai Xu Chun Wang Ruoyi Zhang Bowen Huang |
| author_facet | Gaohuan Long Haibo Yuan Shuai Xu Chun Wang Ruoyi Zhang Bowen Huang |
| author_sort | Gaohuan Long |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The vertical metallicity gradient of the Galactic disk offers valuable insights into the disk’s formation and chemical evolution over time. We utilized the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope low-resolution spectral young stellar sample to investigate this gradient and found that it approaches zero as stellar effective temperature (or age) increases (or decreases) across various Galactocentric distances. To validate this result, we analyzed 295 open clusters younger than 3 Gyr and 976 classical cepheids within the Galactic disk. The findings confirmed that, within a given narrow age range, the vertical metallicity gradient is effectively zero. This relationship between metallicity and age supports the “upside-down” disk formation theory, as it indicates that the youngest and most metal-rich stars dominate the midplane, while older and more metal-poor stars formed at larger vertical heights and currently tend to be at these heights. Overall, our results align well with theoretical predictions, offering further insight into the chemical evolution and structural properties of the Milky Way. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-defa48182ae74ed2a7eb3f39e99ee1e72025-08-20T01:51:48ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198315110.3847/1538-4357/adbf93The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOSTGaohuan Long0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1564-0179Haibo Yuan1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2471-2363Shuai Xu2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3535-504XChun Wang3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8713-2334Ruoyi Zhang4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1863-1268Bowen Huang5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1259-0517Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China ; yuanhb@bnu.edu.cn; School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University , No.19, Xinjiekouwai St., Haidian District, Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China ; yuanhb@bnu.edu.cn; School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University , No.19, Xinjiekouwai St., Haidian District, Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China ; yuanhb@bnu.edu.cn; School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University , No.19, Xinjiekouwai St., Haidian District, Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaTianjin Astrophysics Center, Tianjin Normal University , Tianjin 300387, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China ; yuanhb@bnu.edu.cn; School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University , No.19, Xinjiekouwai St., Haidian District, Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China ; yuanhb@bnu.edu.cn; School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University , No.19, Xinjiekouwai St., Haidian District, Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of ChinaThe vertical metallicity gradient of the Galactic disk offers valuable insights into the disk’s formation and chemical evolution over time. We utilized the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope low-resolution spectral young stellar sample to investigate this gradient and found that it approaches zero as stellar effective temperature (or age) increases (or decreases) across various Galactocentric distances. To validate this result, we analyzed 295 open clusters younger than 3 Gyr and 976 classical cepheids within the Galactic disk. The findings confirmed that, within a given narrow age range, the vertical metallicity gradient is effectively zero. This relationship between metallicity and age supports the “upside-down” disk formation theory, as it indicates that the youngest and most metal-rich stars dominate the midplane, while older and more metal-poor stars formed at larger vertical heights and currently tend to be at these heights. Overall, our results align well with theoretical predictions, offering further insight into the chemical evolution and structural properties of the Milky Way.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adbf93Galaxy disksGalaxy structureGalaxy formationGalaxy evolutionMetallicityGalaxy abundances |
| spellingShingle | Gaohuan Long Haibo Yuan Shuai Xu Chun Wang Ruoyi Zhang Bowen Huang The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST The Astrophysical Journal Galaxy disks Galaxy structure Galaxy formation Galaxy evolution Metallicity Galaxy abundances |
| title | The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST |
| title_full | The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST |
| title_fullStr | The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST |
| title_short | The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the Galactic Disk for Mono-age Stellar Populations in LAMOST |
| title_sort | vertical metallicity gradient of the galactic disk for mono age stellar populations in lamost |
| topic | Galaxy disks Galaxy structure Galaxy formation Galaxy evolution Metallicity Galaxy abundances |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adbf93 |
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