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We present the late-time evolution of m12m, a cosmological simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy from the FIRE project. The simulation forms a bar after redshift z = 0.2. We show that the evolution of the model exhibits behaviours typical of kinematic fractionation, with a bar weaker in older populations, an X-shape traced by the younger, metal-rich populations, and a prominent X-shape in the edge-on mean metallicity map. Because of the late formation of the bar in m12m, stars forming after 10 Gyr (z = 0.34) significantly contaminate the bulge, at a level higher than is observed at high latitudes in the Milky Way, implying that its bar cannot have formed as late as in m12m. We also study the model's vertex deviation of the velocity ellipsoid as a function of stellar metallicity and age in the equivalent of Baade's Window. The formation of the bar leads to a non-zero vertex deviation. We find that metal-rich stars have a large vertex deviation (∼40◦), which becomes negligible for metal-poor stars, a trend also found in the Milky Way, despite not matching in detail. We demonstrate that the vertex deviation also varies with stellar age and is large for stars as old as 9 Gyr, while 13 Gyr old stars have negligible vertex deviation. When we exclude stars that have been accreted, the vertex deviation is not significantly changed, demonstrating that the observed variation of vertex deviation with metallicity is not necessarily due to an accreted population.

We present the late-time evolution of m12m, a cosmological simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy from the FIRE project. The simulation forms a bar after redshift z = 0.2. We show that the evolution of the model exhibits behaviours typical of kinematic fractionation, with a bar weaker in older populations, an X-shape traced by the younger, metal-rich populations, and a prominent X-shape in the edge-on mean metallicity map. Because of the late formation of the bar in m12m, stars forming after 10 Gyr (z = 0.34) significantly contaminate the bulge, at a level higher than is observed at high latitudes in the Milky Way, implying that its bar cannot have formed as late as in m12m. We also study the model's vertex deviation of the velocity ellipsoid as a function of stellar metallicity and age in the equivalent of Baade's Window. The formation of the bar leads to a non-zero vertex deviation. We find that metal-rich stars have a large vertex deviation (∼40◦), which becomes negligible for metal-poor stars, a trend also found in the Milky Way, despite not matching in detail. We demonstrate that the vertex deviation also varies with stellar age and is large for stars as old as 9 Gyr, while 13 Gyr old stars have negligible vertex deviation. When we exclude stars that have been accreted, the vertex deviation is not significantly changed, demonstrating that the observed variation of vertex deviation with metallicity is not necessarily due to an accreted population.

The oldest stars in the Milky Way (MW) bear imprints of the Galaxy's early assembly history. We use FIRE cosmological zoom-in simulations of three MW-mass disc galaxies to study the spatial distribution, chemistry, and kinematics of the oldest surviving stars (z form ≳ 5) in MW-like galaxies. We predict the oldest stars to be less centrally concentrated at z = 0 than stars formed at later times as a result of two processes. First, the majority of the oldest stars are not formed in situ but are accreted during hierarchical assembly. These ex situ stars are deposited on dispersion-supported, halo-like orbits but dominate over old stars formed in situ in the solar neighbourhood, and in some simulations, even in the galactic centre. Secondly, old stars formed in situ are driven outwards by bursty star formation and energetic feedback processes that create a time-varying gravitational potential at z ≳ 2, similar to the process that creates dark matter cores and expands stellar orbits in bursty dwarf galaxies. The total fraction of stars that are ancient is more than an order of magnitude higher for sight lines away from the bulge and inner halo than for inward-looking sight lines. Although the task of identifying specific stars as ancient remains challenging, we anticipate that million-star spectral surveys and photometric surveys targeting metal-poor stars already include hundreds of stars formed before z = 5. We predict most of these targets to have higher metallicity (-3 < [Fe/H] < -2) than the most extreme metal-poor stars.

The oldest stars in the Milky Way (MW) bear imprints of the Galaxy's early assembly history. We use FIRE cosmological zoom-in simulations of three MW-mass disc galaxies to study the spatial distribution, chemistry, and kinematics of the oldest surviving stars (z form ≳ 5) in MW-like galaxies. We predict the oldest stars to be less centrally concentrated at z = 0 than stars formed at later times as a result of two processes. First, the majority of the oldest stars are not formed in situ but are accreted during hierarchical assembly. These ex situ stars are deposited on dispersion-supported, halo-like orbits but dominate over old stars formed in situ in the solar neighbourhood, and in some simulations, even in the galactic centre. Secondly, old stars formed in situ are driven outwards by bursty star formation and energetic feedback processes that create a time-varying gravitational potential at z ≳ 2, similar to the process that creates dark matter cores and expands stellar orbits in bursty dwarf galaxies. The total fraction of stars that are ancient is more than an order of magnitude higher for sight lines away from the bulge and inner halo than for inward-looking sight lines. Although the task of identifying specific stars as ancient remains challenging, we anticipate that million-star spectral surveys and photometric surveys targeting metal-poor stars already include hundreds of stars formed before z = 5. We predict most of these targets to have higher metallicity (-3 < [Fe/H] < -2) than the most extreme metal-poor stars.

Dwarf galaxies are known to have remarkably low star formation efficiency due to strong feedback. Adopting the dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way (MW) as a laboratory, we explore a flexible semi-analytic galaxy formation model to understand how the feedback processes shape the satellite galaxies of the MW. Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo, we exhaustively search a large parameter space of the model and rigorously show that the general wisdom of strong outflows as the primary feedback mechanism cannot simultaneously explain the stellar mass function and the mass-metallicity relation of the MW satellites. An extended model that assumes that a fraction of baryons is prevented from collapsing into low-mass halos in the first place can be accurately constrained to simultaneously reproduce those observations. The inference suggests that two different physical mechanisms are needed to explain the two different data sets. In particular, moderate outflows with weak halo mass dependence are needed to explain the mass-metallicity relation, and prevention of baryons falling into shallow gravitational potentials of low-mass halos (e.g., "pre-heating") is needed to explain the low stellar mass fraction for a given subhalo mass.

Dwarf galaxies are known to have remarkably low star formation efficiency due to strong feedback. Adopting the dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way (MW) as a laboratory, we explore a flexible semi-analytic galaxy formation model to understand how the feedback processes shape the satellite galaxies of the MW. Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo, we exhaustively search a large parameter space of the model and rigorously show that the general wisdom of strong outflows as the primary feedback mechanism cannot simultaneously explain the stellar mass function and the mass-metallicity relation of the MW satellites. An extended model that assumes that a fraction of baryons is prevented from collapsing into low-mass halos in the first place can be accurately constrained to simultaneously reproduce those observations. The inference suggests that two different physical mechanisms are needed to explain the two different data sets. In particular, moderate outflows with weak halo mass dependence are needed to explain the mass-metallicity relation, and prevention of baryons falling into shallow gravitational potentials of low-mass halos (e.g., "pre-heating") is needed to explain the low stellar mass fraction for a given subhalo mass.

We report the relative abundances of the three stable isotopes of silicon,$^{28}$Si, $^{29}$Si and $^{30}$Si, across the Galaxy using the $v = 0, J = 1\to 0$ transition of silicon monoxide. The chosen sources represent a range inGalactocentric radii ($R_{\rm GC}$) from 0 to 9.8 kpc. The high spectralresolution and sensitivity afforded by the GBT permit isotope ratios to becorrected for optical depths. The optical-depth-corrected data indicate thatthe secondary-to-primary silicon isotope ratios $^{29}{\rm Si}/^{28}{\rm Si}$and $^{30}{\rm Si}/^{28}{\rm Si}$ vary much less than predicted on the basis ofother stable isotope ratio gradients across the Galaxy. Indeed, there is nodetectable variation in Si isotope ratios with $R_{\rm GC}$. This lack of anisotope ratio gradient stands in stark contrast to the monotonically decreasingtrend with $R_{\rm GC}$ exhibited by published secondary-to-primary oxygenisotope ratios. These results, when considered in the context of theexpectations for chemical evolution, suggest that the reported oxygen isotoperatio trends, and perhaps that for carbon as well, require furtherinvestigation. The methods developed in this study for SiO isotopologue ratiomeasurements are equally applicable to Galactic oxygen, carbon and nitrogenisotope ratio measurements, and should prove useful for future observations ofthese isotope systems.

We report the relative abundances of the three stable isotopes of silicon,$^{28}$Si, $^{29}$Si and $^{30}$Si, across the Galaxy using the $v = 0, J = 1\to 0$ transition of silicon monoxide. The chosen sources represent a range inGalactocentric radii ($R_{\rm GC}$) from 0 to 9.8 kpc. The high spectralresolution and sensitivity afforded by the GBT permit isotope ratios to becorrected for optical depths. The optical-depth-corrected data indicate thatthe secondary-to-primary silicon isotope ratios $^{29}{\rm Si}/^{28}{\rm Si}$and $^{30}{\rm Si}/^{28}{\rm Si}$ vary much less than predicted on the basis ofother stable isotope ratio gradients across the Galaxy. Indeed, there is nodetectable variation in Si isotope ratios with $R_{\rm GC}$. This lack of anisotope ratio gradient stands in stark contrast to the monotonically decreasingtrend with $R_{\rm GC}$ exhibited by published secondary-to-primary oxygenisotope ratios. These results, when considered in the context of theexpectations for chemical evolution, suggest that the reported oxygen isotoperatio trends, and perhaps that for carbon as well, require furtherinvestigation. The methods developed in this study for SiO isotopologue ratiomeasurements are equally applicable to Galactic oxygen, carbon and nitrogenisotope ratio measurements, and should prove useful for future observations ofthese isotope systems.

The spatial structure of stellar populations with different chemical abundances in the Milky Way (MW) contains a wealth of information on Galactic evolution over cosmic time. We use data on 14,699 red-clump stars from the APOGEE survey, covering 4 kpc∼ R≳15 kpc, to determine the structure of mono-abundance populations (MAPs)-stars in narrow bins in [α/Fe] and [Fe H]-accounting for the complex effects of the APOGEE selection function and the spatially variable dust obscuration. We determine that all MAPs with enhanced [α/Fe] are centrally concentrated and are well-described as exponentials with a scale length of 2.2 ± 0.2 kpc over the whole radial range of the disk. We discover that the surface-density profiles of low-[α/Fe] MAPs are complex: they do not monotonically decrease outwards, but rather display a peak radius ranging from ≈5 to ≈13 kpc at low [Fe H]. The extensive radial coverage of the data allows us to measure radial trends in the thickness of each MAP. While high-[α/Fe] MAPs have constant scale heights, low-[α/Fe] MAPs flare. We confirm, now with highprecision abundances, previous results that each MAP contains only a single vertical scale height and that low- [Fe H], low-[α/Fe] and high-[Fe H], high-[α/Fe] MAPs have intermediate (hZ≈300600 pc) scale heights that smoothly bridge the traditional thin- and thick-disk divide. That the high-[α/Fe], thick disk components do not flare is strong evidence against their thickness being caused by radial migration. The correspondence between the radial structure and chemical-enrichment age of stellar populations is clear confirmation of the inside-out growth of galactic disks. The details of these relations will constrain the variety of physical conditions under which stars form throughout the MW disk.

We use a set of high-resolution N-body simulations of the Galactic disk tostudy its interactions with the population of satellites predictedcosmologically. One simulation illustrates that multiple passages of massivesatellites with different velocities through the disk generate a wobble, havingthe appearance of rings in face-on projections of the stellar disk. They alsoproduce flares in the disk outer parts and gradually heat the disk throughbending waves. A different numerical experiment shows that an individualsatellite as massive as the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy passing through the diskwill drive coupled horizontal and vertical oscillations of stars in underdenseregions, with small significant associated heating. This experiment shows thatvertical excursions of stars in these low-density regions can exceed 1 kpc inthe Solar neighborhood, resembling the coherent vertical oscillations recentlydetected locally. They can also induce non-zero vertical streaming motions aslarge as 10-20 km s$^{-1}$, consistent with recent observations in the Galacticdisk. This phenomenon appears as a local ring, with modest associated diskheating.

We use a set of high-resolution N-body simulations of the Galactic disk tostudy its interactions with the population of satellites predictedcosmologically. One simulation illustrates that multiple passages of massivesatellites with different velocities through the disk generate a wobble, havingthe appearance of rings in face-on projections of the stellar disk. They alsoproduce flares in the disk outer parts and gradually heat the disk throughbending waves. A different numerical experiment shows that an individualsatellite as massive as the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy passing through the diskwill drive coupled horizontal and vertical oscillations of stars in underdenseregions, with small significant associated heating. This experiment shows thatvertical excursions of stars in these low-density regions can exceed 1 kpc inthe Solar neighborhood, resembling the coherent vertical oscillations recentlydetected locally. They can also induce non-zero vertical streaming motions aslarge as 10-20 km s$^{-1}$, consistent with recent observations in the Galacticdisk. This phenomenon appears as a local ring, with modest associated diskheating.

The spatial structure of stellar populations with different chemical abundances in the Milky Way (MW) contains a wealth of information on Galactic evolution over cosmic time. We use data on 14,699 red-clump stars from the APOGEE survey, covering 4 kpc∼ R≳15 kpc, to determine the structure of mono-abundance populations (MAPs)-stars in narrow bins in [α/Fe] and [Fe H]-accounting for the complex effects of the APOGEE selection function and the spatially variable dust obscuration. We determine that all MAPs with enhanced [α/Fe] are centrally concentrated and are well-described as exponentials with a scale length of 2.2 ± 0.2 kpc over the whole radial range of the disk. We discover that the surface-density profiles of low-[α/Fe] MAPs are complex: they do not monotonically decrease outwards, but rather display a peak radius ranging from ≈5 to ≈13 kpc at low [Fe H]. The extensive radial coverage of the data allows us to measure radial trends in the thickness of each MAP. While high-[α/Fe] MAPs have constant scale heights, low-[α/Fe] MAPs flare. We confirm, now with highprecision abundances, previous results that each MAP contains only a single vertical scale height and that low- [Fe H], low-[α/Fe] and high-[Fe H], high-[α/Fe] MAPs have intermediate (hZ≈300600 pc) scale heights that smoothly bridge the traditional thin- and thick-disk divide. That the high-[α/Fe], thick disk components do not flare is strong evidence against their thickness being caused by radial migration. The correspondence between the radial structure and chemical-enrichment age of stellar populations is clear confirmation of the inside-out growth of galactic disks. The details of these relations will constrain the variety of physical conditions under which stars form throughout the MW disk.

Using data from four deep fields (COSMOS, AEGIS, ECDFS, and CDFN), we studythe correlation between the position of galaxies in the star formation rate(SFR) versus stellar mass plane and local environment at $z10^{10.4-10.6}$ $M_{\odot}$), across all environments. At high redshift ($0.5

We combine Hubble Space Telescope (HST) G102 and G141 near-IR (NIR) grism spectroscopy with HST/WFC3-UVIS, HST/WFC3-IR, and Spitzer/IRAC [3.6 μm] photometry to assemble a sample of massive (log (M star/M ⊙) ∼ 11.0) and quenched (specific star formation rate 2 and the z ∼ 1.5 RS. According to their estimated ages, the time required for quenched galaxies off the RS to join their counterparts on the z ∼ 1.5 RS is of the order of ∼1 Gyr. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We combine Hubble Space Telescope (HST) G102 and G141 near-IR (NIR) grism spectroscopy with HST/WFC3-UVIS, HST/WFC3-IR, and Spitzer/IRAC [3.6 μm] photometry to assemble a sample of massive (log (M star/M ⊙) ∼ 11.0) and quenched (specific star formation rate 2 and the z ∼ 1.5 RS. According to their estimated ages, the time required for quenched galaxies off the RS to join their counterparts on the z ∼ 1.5 RS is of the order of ∼1 Gyr. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.