The mysterious thick disk: Unifying Galactic and extragalactic dynamics

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The origin of the Milky Way’s ancient thick disk currently defies any easy explanation. This project aims to resolve this problem and will directly challenge existing models of disk formation. The new innovative approach to answering this question will be to simultaneously measure both the chemical and dynamical properties of nearby Milky Way analogues. By unifying the perspectives of Galactic and extragalactic dynamics the project seeks to deliver new understandings about thick disk formation. Expected outcomes include, robust new evidence about disk galaxy formation, discovery of a large number of dynamical Milky Way analogues, and establishing the most plausible Milky Way formation pathway from cosmological simulations.