VINTERGATAN III: how to reset the metallicity of the Milky Way

Understand

Using the cosmological zoom simulation VINTERGATAN, we present a new scenario for the onset of star formation at the metal-poor end of the low-[$\alpha$/Fe] sequence in a Milky Way-like galaxy.

• In this scenario, the galaxy is fueled by two distinct gas flows.
• One is enriched by outflows from massive galaxies, but not the other.
• While the former feeds the inner galactic region, the latter fuels an outer gas disk, inclined with respect to the main galactic plane, and with a significantly poorer chemical content.