Friske, Jennifer K. S.;
(2024)
Chemical evolution modelling of the nuclear stellar disc and its implications.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
In this thesis, I make use of the Galactic Chemical Evolution (GCE) Model RAMICES II to model the Nuclear Stellar Disc (NSD) of the Milky Way. GCE tries to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies by studying the change in elemental abundances over time in different galactic regions. As processes on many different physical scales impact the elemental balances, it is a very powerful tool, but suffers from an increasingly large parameter space. This is why we look to the NSD in to the Galactic centre: a thin, kinematically cold structure found in the majority of barred disc galaxies. Their outer edge is strongly star forming due to direct infall of gas along the galactic bar. This connection of the very centre with the outer galactic disc makes it a unique lab oratory to study GCE in a constrained environment. While historically under-researched, the last few years saw an increase in NSD studies. However, data remains scarce, particularly regarding their chemical history. I present the first multizone NSD model embedded in a full GCE model and use it to predict the expected abundance profiles for two main gas accretion scenarios. Additionally, I identify the key GCE parameters influencing these profiles and analyse their effects. I demonstrate how studying the NSD abundances relative to the tips of the bar from where the gas is drawn allows to cut out global GCE effects. Then, I illustrate how abundance observations of only a few elements at intermediate NSD radii, combined with a more finely resolved metallicity profile, will enable us to break degeneracies in GCE models once better abundance measurements are available. Finally, I use my model to synthesise a stellar catalogue and show how strong selection function effects due to dust extinction in the Galactic centre shape the observable star population.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Chemical evolution modelling of the nuclear stellar disc and its implications |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199753 |
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