The DOI matches its Crossref record; 99 of the 99 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
THE EATING HABITS OF MILKY WAY-MASS HALOS: DESTROYED DWARF SATELLITES AND THE METALLICITY DISTRIBUTION OF ACCRETED STARS
Open accessAbstract
We study the mass spectrum of destroyed dwarfs that contribute to the accreted stellar mass of Milky Way (MW)-mass (M vir ∼ 10 12.1 M ⊙) halos using a suite of 45 zoom-in dissipationless simulations. Empirical models are employed to relate (peak) subhalo mass to dwarf stellar mass, and we use constraints from z = 0 observations and hydrodynamical simulations to estimate the metallicity distribution of the accreted stellar material. The dominant contributors to the accreted stellar mass are relatively massive dwarfs with M star ∼ 10 8–10 10 M ⊙. Halos with more quiescent accretion histories tend to have lower mass progenitors (10 8–10 9 M ⊙), and lower overall accreted stellar masses. Ultra-faint mass (M star < 10 5 M ⊙) dwarfs contribute a negligible amount (≪1%) to the accreted stellar mass and, despite having low average metallicities, supply a small fraction (∼2%–5%) of the very metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] < −2. Dwarfs with masses 10 5 < M star/M ⊙ < 10 8 provide a substantial amount of the very metal-poor stellar material (∼40%–80%), and even relatively metal-rich dwarfs with M star > 10 8 M ⊙ can contribute a considerable fraction (∼20%–60%) of metal-poor stars if their metallicity distributions have significant metal-poor tails. Finally, we find that the generic assumption of a quiescent assembly history for the MW halo seems to be in tension with the mass spectrum of its surviving dwarfs. We suggest that the MW could be a “transient fossil”; a quiescent halo with a recent accretion event(s) that disguises the preceding formation history of the halo.
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Citations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Deason, A. J., Mao, Y.-Y., & Wechsler, R. H.
- Affiliations
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Corresponding author
- Deason, Alis J.
- Venue
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Publisher
- American Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2016-04-01
- Volume
- 821
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5
- ISSN
- 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
- 1538-4357
- OpenAlex
- W2256344593
- Cited by
- 123
- References
- 99
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7
- FWCI
- 6.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Astrophysical Journal (publishedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy (-AC02-05CH11231, 05CH11231, DE AC02 05CH11231, DE-AC02-)
- National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (DE–AC02–05CH11231, 05CH11231, AC02-05CH11231)
- Office of Science (DEAC02–05CH11231, AC02-05CH11231, DE-AC02, 05CH11231)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (DE-AC02-05-CH11231)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Keywords
- Galactic halo, dwarf satellite galaxies, metallicity distribution, very metal-poor stars, halo assembly history, quiescent accretion
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