Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited

We use proper motions and parallaxes from the new reduction of Hipparcos data and Geneva-Copenhagen radial velocities for a complete sample of ~15000 main-sequence and subgiant stars, and new Padova isochrones to constrain the kinematics and star-formation history of the solar neighbourhood. We rede...

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Glavni autori: Aumer, M, Binney, J
Format: Journal article
Jezik:English
Izdano: 2009
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author Aumer, M
Binney, J
author_facet Aumer, M
Binney, J
author_sort Aumer, M
collection OXFORD
description We use proper motions and parallaxes from the new reduction of Hipparcos data and Geneva-Copenhagen radial velocities for a complete sample of ~15000 main-sequence and subgiant stars, and new Padova isochrones to constrain the kinematics and star-formation history of the solar neighbourhood. We rederive the solar motion and the structure of the local velocity ellipsoids. When the principal velocity dispersions are assumed to increase with time as t^\beta, the index \beta is larger for \sigma_W (\beta_W~0.45) than for \sigma_U (\beta_U~0.31). For the three-dimensional velocity dispersion we obtain \beta=0.35. We exclude saturation of disc heating after ~3 Gyr as proposed by Quillen and Garnett(2000). Saturation after >~4 Gyr combined with an abrupt increase in velocity dispersion for the oldest stars cannot be excluded. For all our models the star-formation rate is declining, being a factor 2-7 lower now than it was at the beginning. Models in which the SFR declines exponentially favour very high disc ages between 11.5 and 13 Gyr and exclude ages below ~10.5 Gyr as they yield worse fits to the number density and velocity dispersion of red stars. Models in which the SFR is the sum of two declining exponentials representing the thin and thick discs favour ages between 10.5 and 12 Gyr with a lower limit of ~10.0 Gyr. Although in our models the star-formation rate peaked surprisingly early, the mean formation time of solar-neighbourhood stars is later than in ab-initio models of galaxy formation, probably on account of weaknesses in such models.
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spelling oxford-uuid:1409fa92-dfb6-4b84-ab9b-05e803a5b7c42022-03-26T10:17:16ZKinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisitedJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:1409fa92-dfb6-4b84-ab9b-05e803a5b7c4EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009Aumer, MBinney, JWe use proper motions and parallaxes from the new reduction of Hipparcos data and Geneva-Copenhagen radial velocities for a complete sample of ~15000 main-sequence and subgiant stars, and new Padova isochrones to constrain the kinematics and star-formation history of the solar neighbourhood. We rederive the solar motion and the structure of the local velocity ellipsoids. When the principal velocity dispersions are assumed to increase with time as t^\beta, the index \beta is larger for \sigma_W (\beta_W~0.45) than for \sigma_U (\beta_U~0.31). For the three-dimensional velocity dispersion we obtain \beta=0.35. We exclude saturation of disc heating after ~3 Gyr as proposed by Quillen and Garnett(2000). Saturation after >~4 Gyr combined with an abrupt increase in velocity dispersion for the oldest stars cannot be excluded. For all our models the star-formation rate is declining, being a factor 2-7 lower now than it was at the beginning. Models in which the SFR declines exponentially favour very high disc ages between 11.5 and 13 Gyr and exclude ages below ~10.5 Gyr as they yield worse fits to the number density and velocity dispersion of red stars. Models in which the SFR is the sum of two declining exponentials representing the thin and thick discs favour ages between 10.5 and 12 Gyr with a lower limit of ~10.0 Gyr. Although in our models the star-formation rate peaked surprisingly early, the mean formation time of solar-neighbourhood stars is later than in ab-initio models of galaxy formation, probably on account of weaknesses in such models.
spellingShingle Aumer, M
Binney, J
Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
title Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
title_full Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
title_fullStr Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
title_full_unstemmed Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
title_short Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
title_sort kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited
work_keys_str_mv AT aumerm kinematicsandhistoryofthesolarneighbourhoodrevisited
AT binneyj kinematicsandhistoryofthesolarneighbourhoodrevisited