RSAA Colloquium: Valeria Grisoni (INAF)

Galactic archaeology with chemical evolution models

Valeria Grisoni. https://www.oats.inaf.it

I will discuss the chemical evolution of the Milky Way in the light of detailed Galactic chemical evolution models. Indeed, we are in a golden era for Galactic archaeology thanks to the advent of large spectroscopic surveys, that can provide detailed stellar abundances of stars in the Galaxy. Stellar ages can then provide further fundamental constraints to reconstruct the Galactic history. Then, by means of detailed chemical evolution models, it is possible to predict the chemical abundances expected in the stars of the different Galactic components. From the comparison between data and model predictions, it is possible to constrain the history of star formation occurred in each component, and thus the history of the entire Galaxy. 

In particular, I will focus on the chemical bi-modality between the Galactic thick and thin discs. I will start by discussing the dichotomy in the [α/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] diagram where we can clearly see two distinct sequences corresponding to the thick and thin discs, and then I will discuss the bimodality in other abundance patterns, from light to heavy elements.