Chemical Abundances and Globular Clusters of Milky Way Dwarf Galaxies

2026/08/04 by Baitian Tang, Shihui Lin, Ruoyun Huang +5
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.SR

paper · pdf

Proceedings of the IAU Symposium No. 403, The Hidden Beauty of Galactic Outskirts

arxiv created 2026/08/04 · arxiv updated 2026/08/05

Abstract

We present an overview of our ongoing GASTRONOMI project, which investigates the coevolution of the Milky Way (MW), its satellite dwarf galaxies, and their star clusters through chemo-dynamical analysis. We derive precise chemical abundances for stars in five classical dwarf galaxies, which reveal mass-dependent chemical evolution, particularly in alpha elements, such as [Si/Fe]. A distinct dichotomy in [Al/Fe] is found between metal-rich ([Fe/H]>-1.5) stars formed in-situ in the MW and those originating in dwarf galaxies. Star clusters act as sensitive environmental probes. The presence of multiple populations correlates with galactic evolution, and nitrogen-rich stars in Fornax are likely relics of disrupted globular clusters (GCs). We developed a chemical classification for Galactic GCs, isolating primordial populations by their low [Al/Fe]. This places in-situ and accreted GCs in distinct regions of the [Al/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane, providing a new tool to reconstruct the Galaxy's accretion history.

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