Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20917204r&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #172.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Other
1
Scientific paper
The vertical velocities of stars in our Galaxy's thin disk, as defined by the local metal-rich population, follow an isothermal distribution. The likely origin of the metal-rich thin disk population is star formation in the plane of the Milky Way. In contrast, the older, more metal-poor thick disk component of the Milky is most likely a relic from a merger event or events earlier in the Galaxy's history. A significant deviation from isothermality in the vertical velocity distribution of the thick disk may be additional evidence in favor of a merger origin, as opposed to steady heating of an older thin disk through many local encounters. A measurement of the vertical velocity distribution of the thick disk requires a sample of many hundreds of stars with accurate radial velocities. The SEGUE survey will provide such a sample of thick disk stars at high Galactic latitude 2-3 kpc above the Galactic plane, where contamination from the thin disk should be minimal. The sample will have radial velocities accurate to 7 km/s at g=18.2, and will total several thousand stars by the end of the survey. We will also have metallicity estimates and proper motion information from the recalibrated USNOB catalog to provide further thick/thin disk and thick disk/halo discrimination and allow us to examine the velocity distribution for metallicity-selected subsets of the population. We report on our current best estimate for the vertical velocity distribution of the thick disk using this sample, and our parallel efforts to verify that we achieve the required accuracy and precision in our velocity measurements. We also discuss the prospects for interpreting a deviation from isothermality in order to use such a measurement to understand thick disk formation.
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