A Search for Chemical Signatures of Galactic Mergers

Abstract

We present preliminary abundance analyses of a group of high-velocity metal-poor stars. This report describes our work in progress. We examine the derived abundances in the context of previous studies of metal-poor stars with unusual abundances and/or extreme galactocentric orbits. Included in this sample are BD+80 245, a star previously known to have unusually low alpha-element abundances, and G4-36, a new low-alpha star.

4 pages, 2 figures, To appear in Proceedings of the 35th Liege Astrophysics Colloquium: "The Galactic Halo: From Globular Clusters to Field Stars"