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Chemical evolution of the galactic halo

I. Effects of possible mass segregation mechanisms

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Abstract

Models for the chemical evolution of the galactic halo are proposed, to reproduce the distribution of metals in globular clusters and in the stars of the bulge component of our Galaxy, with particular attention to the observedZ(N) relation.

The present picture of the galactic halo, as it results from the new abundance scale for globular clusters and from recent data about the mass distribution, is outlined and some observational suggestions for the bulge component of the Galaxy are reviewed. These features are considered as constraints to the numerical models.

Since it has been demonstrated (Hartwick, 1976) that chemical distributions of the type observed for population II stars can be theoretically reproduced if mass is temporarily removed from the star-forming regions, two possible mechanisms of mass segregation are proposed to account for this phenomenon. The first one comes from the different dynamical behaviour of the gas and of the stars, since stars are likely to decouple from the gas when they are formed, without participating to the subsequent collapse. The second one results from considering a star formation law conditioned by the ionization by early-type stars. On one side, the advanced stages of evolution of Hii regions can enhance or even generate star formation; on the other hand, the ionizing radiation segregates a fraction of the mass in Strömgren spheres, thus inhibiting new stellar birth in these regions for a certain time.

Models based on simple schematizations of these phenomena and on an initial mass function allowing for highM/L ratios are found to reproduce observational data for both metal abundances and mass distribution.

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  1. Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, Pino Torinese, Italia

    M. Busso

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Busso, M. Chemical evolution of the galactic halo. Astrophys Space Sci 90, 277–298 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650063

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650063

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