The Galactic Thick Disk: An Observational Perspective

In this review, we present a brief description of observational efforts to understand the Galactic thick disk and its relation to the other Galactic components. This review primarily focused on elemental abundance patterns of the thick disk population to pin down the process or processes that were responsible for its existence and evolution. Kinematic and chemical properties of disk stars establish that the thick disk is a distinct component in the Milky Way. The chemical enrichment and star formation histories hold clues to the bigger picture of understanding the Galaxy formation.
Comment: 11 pages including 2 figures, 2 tables an invited review to be published in Proc. of IAU 265 Symp. "Chemical Abundances in the Universe: Connecting First Stars to Planets" eds: K. Cunha, M. Spite & B. Barbuy