Chemodynamical simulations of the Milky Way galaxy

Abstract

We present chemodynamical simulations of a Milky-Way-type galaxy using a self-consistent hydrodynamical code that includes supernova feedback and chemical enrichment, and predict the spatial distribution of elements from oxygen to zinc. In the simulated galaxy, the kinematical and chemical properties of the bulge, disk, and halo are consistent with the observations. The bulge formed from the assembly of subgalaxies at z greater than or similar to 3, and has higher [alpha/Fe] ratios because of the small contribution from Type Ia supernovae. The disk formed with a constant star formation over 13 Gyr, and shows a decreasing trend of [alpha/Fe] and increasing trends of [(Na, Al, Cu, Mn)/Fe] against [Fe/H]. However, the thick disk stars tend to have higher [alpha/Fe] and lower [Mn/Fe] than thin disk stars. We also predict the frequency distribution of elemental abundance ratios as functions of time and location, which can be directly compared with galactic archeology projects such as HERMES.