Metallicity Gradients in the Milky Way Disk

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The objective of this project is to address and improve the poor constraints on gradients in chemical abundances across the galactic disk by carrying out a consistent, state-of-the-art analysis of a statistically-robust sample of several hundred OB stars. The work will use high-resolution spectra of about 700 OB stars that have been collected over the last few years. The stellar sample spans a range in galactocentric distance from ~5 to 20 kpc, with an emphasis on measuring gradients in the outer disk, which provide the strongest constraints on chemical evolution models and the best opportunity to chart the evolution of the galaxy. The Broader Impacts of this program include mentoring of undergraduate students in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.