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Exploring the vertical age structure of the Galactic disc

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2016

Luca Casagrande*
Affiliation:
Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory, The Australian National University, ACT 2611, Australia email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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While in external or high-redshift galaxies we can only measure integrated stellar properties at best, the Milky Way offers us the unique opportunity to study its individual baryonic components, including stars. We use oscillations measured in red giant stars by the Kepler satellite to derive stellar ages and explore the vertical age structure across few kpc of the Milky Way disc. We find that old stars dominate at increasing Galactic heights, whereas closer to the plane a rich zoology of ages exists. The age distribution of stars shows a smooth distribution over the last 10 Gyr, which together with a flat age-metallicity relation is consistent with a quiescent evolution for the Milky Way disc since a redshift of about two.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016 

References

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