Disentangling the Hercules Stream
T. Bensby, M.S. Oey, S. Feltzing, & B. Gustafsson
Using high-resolution spectra of nearby F and G dwarf stars, we have
investigated the detailed abundance and age structure of the Hercules
stream. We find that the stars in the stream have a wide range of
stellar ages, metallicities, and element abundances. By comparing to
existing samples of stars in the solar neighbourhood with kinematics
typical of the Galactic thin and thick disks we find that the
properties of the Hercules stream distinctly separate into the
abundance and age trends of the two disks. Hence, we find it unlikely
that the Hercules stream is a unique Galactic stellar population, but
rather a mixture of thin and thick disk stars. This points toward a
dynamical origin for the Hercules stream, probably caused by the
Galactic bar.
ApJ Letters, 655, L89
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astro-ph/0612658
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