Elevated r-process Enrichment in Gaia Sausage and Sequoia*

The Gaia Sausage (GS) and the Sequoia represent the major accretion events that formed the stellar halo of the Milky Way. A detailed chemical study of these main building blocks provides a pristine view of the early steps of the Galaxy's assembly. We present the results of the analysis of the UVES high-resolution spectroscopic observations at the 8.2 m VLT of nine Sausage/Sequoia members selected kinematically using Gaia DR2. We season this set of measurements with archival data from Nissen & Schuster and GALAH DR3 (2020). Here, we focus on the neutron-capture process by analyzing Sr, Y, Ba, and Eu behavior. We detect clear enhancement in Eu abundance ([Eu/Fe] similar to 0.6-0.7) indicative of large prevalence of the r-process in the stellar n-capture makeup. We are also able to trace the evolution of the heavy element production across a wide range of metallicity. The barium to europium changes from a tight, flat sequence with [Ba/Eu] = -0.7 reflecting dominant contribution from exploding massive stars, to a clear upturn at higher iron abundances, betraying the onset of contamination from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) ejecta. Additionally, we discover two clear sequences in the [Fe/H]-[Ba/Fe] plane likely caused by distinct levels of s-process pollution and mixing within the GS progenitor.

Automated summary

The Gaia Sausage and the Sequoia are crucial for understanding the formation of the stellar halo of the Milky Way, with their chemical analysis revealing insights into the early stages of the Galaxy's assembly. The study shows a clear enhancement in europium abundance, indicating a prevalent presence of the r-process in the stellar neutron-capture makeup, as well as distinct sequences in the barium to europium changes at different iron abundances.