Europium enrichment and hierarchical formation of the Galactic halo

Abstract

Context. The origin of the large star-to-star variation of the [Eu/Fe] ratios observed in the extremely metal-poor (at [Fe/H] ≤ −3) stars of the Galactic halo is still a matter of debate. Aims. In this paper, we explore this problem by putting our stochastic chemical evolution model in the hierarchical clustering framework, with the aim of explaining the observed spread in the halo. Methods. We compute the chemical enrichment of Eu occurring in the building blocks that have possibly formed the Galactic halo. In this framework, the enrichment from neutron star mergers can be influenced by the dynamics of the binary systems in the gravitational potential of the original host galaxy. In the least massive systems, the neutron stars can merge outside the host galaxy and so only a small fraction of newly produced Eu can be retained by the parent galaxy itself. Results. In the framework of this new scenario, the accreted merging neutron stars are able to explain the presence of stars with sub-solar [Eu/Fe] ratios at [Fe/H] ≤ −3, but only if we assume a delay time distribution for merging of the neutron stars ∝t−1.5. We confirm the correlation between the dispersion of [Eu/Fe] at a given metallicity and the fraction of massive stars which give origin to neutron star mergers. The mixed scenario, where both neutron star mergers and magneto-rotational supernovae do produce Eu, can explain the observed spread in the Eu abundance also for a delay time distribution for mergers going either as ∝t−1 or ∝t−1.5.