Metallicity gradient from SDSS & SMSS in halo stars

These samples were compiled using spectroscopic metallicities from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and photometric metallicities from the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS). We detect a negative metallicity gradient in the outermost halo (r>35kpc from the Galactic center), and find that the frequency of very metal-poor ([Fe/H]{<}-2.0) stars in the outer-halo region reaches up to ~60% in our most distant sample, commensurate with previous theoretical predictions.

This result provides clear evidence that the outer-halo formed hierarchically. The retrograde stars in the outermost halo exhibit a roughly constant metallicity, which may be linked to the accretion of the Sequoia progenitor. In contrast, prograde stars in the outermost halo exhibit a strong metallicity-distance dependence, indicating that they likely originated from the accretion of galaxies less massive than the Sequoia progenitor galaxy.