In the ΛCDM paradigm, the Galactic stellar halo is predicted to harbor the accreted debris of smaller systems. To identify these systems, the H3 Spectroscopic Survey, combined with Gaia, is gathering 6D phase-space and chemical information in the distant Galaxy. Here we present a comprehensive inventory of structure within 50 kpc from the Galactic center using a sample of 5684 giants atWe identify known structures including the high-α disk, the in situ halo (disk stars heated to eccentric orbits), Sagittarius (Sgr), Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE), the Helmi Streams, Sequoia, and Thamnos. Additionally, we identify the following new structures: (i) Aleph ([Fe/H]=−0.5), a low-eccentricity structure that rises a surprising 10 kpc off the plane, (ii) and (iii) Arjuna ([Fe/H]=−1.2) and I'itoi ([Fe/H]<−2), which comprise the high-energy retrograde halo along with Sequoia, and (iv) Wukong ([Fe/H]=−1.6), a prograde phase-space overdensity chemically distinct from GSE. For each structure, we provide [Fe/H], [α/Fe], and orbital parameters. Stars born within the Galaxy are a major component at | | Z 2 kpc (≈60%), but their relative fraction declines sharply to 5% past 15 kpc. Beyond 15 kpc, >80% of the halo is built by two massive (M å ∼10 8 -10 9 M e ) accreted dwarfs: GSE ([Fe/H]=−1.2) within 25 kpc and Sgr ([Fe/H]=−1.0) beyond 25 kpc. This explains the relatively high overall metallicity of the halo ([Fe/H]≈−1.2). We attribute 95% of the sample to one of the listed structures, pointing to a halo built entirely from accreted dwarfs and heating of the disk.

Using the example of the tidal stream of the Milky Way globular cluster Palomar 5 (Pal 5), we demonstrate how observational data on tidal streams can be efficiently reduced in dimensionality and modeled in a Bayesian framework. Our approach combines detection of stream overdensities by a Difference-of-Gaussians process with fast streakline models of globular cluster streams and a continuous likelihood function built from these models. Inference is performed with Markov chain Monte Carlo. By generating ≈ 10 7 model streams, we show that the unique geometry of the Pal 5 debris yields powerful constraints on the solar position and motion, the Milky Way and Pal 5 itself. All 10 model parameters were allowed to vary over large ranges without additional prior information. Using only readily-available SDSS data and a few radial velocities from the literature, we find that the distance of the Sun from the Galactic Center is 8.30 ± 0.25 kpc, and the transverse velocity is 253 ± 16 km s −1 . Both estimates are in excellent agreement with independent measurements of these two quantities. Assuming a standard disk and bulge model, we determine the Galactic mass within Pal 5's apogalactic radius of 19 kpc to be (2.1 ± 0.4) × 10 11 M . Moreover, we find the potential of the dark halo with a flattening of q z = 0.95 +0.16 −0.12 to be essentially spherical -at least within the radial range that is effectively probed by Pal 5. We also determine Pal 5's mass, distance and proper motion independently from other methods, which enables us to perform vital cross-checks. Our inferred heliocentric distance of Pal 5 is 23.6 +0.8 −0.7 kpc, in perfect agreement with, and more precise than estimates from isochrone fitting of deep HST imaging data. We conclude that finding and modeling more globular cluster streams is an efficient way for mapping out the structure of our Galaxy to high precision. With more observational data and by using additional prior information, the precision of this mapping can be significantly increased.

We use the first Gaia data release, combined with the RAVE and APOGEE spectroscopic surveys, to investigate the origin of halo stars within 3 kpc from the Sun. We identify halo stars kinematically as moving at a relative speed of at least 220 km s −1 with respect to the local standard of rest. These stars are generally less metal-rich than the disk, but surprisingly, half of our halo sample is comprised of stars withThe orbital directions of these metal-rich halo stars are preferentially aligned with the disk rotation, in sharp contrast with the intrinsically isotropic orbital distribution of the metal-poor halo stars. We find similar properties in the Latte cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy from the FIRE project. In Latte, metal-rich halo stars formed primarily inside of the solar circle, whereas lower-metallicity halo stars preferentially formed at larger distances (extending beyond the virial radius). This suggests that metal-rich halo stars in the solar neighborhood actually formed in situ within the Galactic disk, rather than having been accreted from satellite systems. These stars, currently on halo-like orbits, therefore have likely undergone substantial radial migration/heating.

Globular clusters (GCs) formed when the Milky Way experienced a phase of rapid assembly. We use the wealth of information contained in the Galactic GC population to quantify the properties of the satellite galaxies from which the Milky Way assembled. To achieve this, we train an artificial neural network on the E-MOSAICS cosmological simulations of the co-formation and co-evolution of GCs and their host galaxies. The network uses the ages, metallicities, and orbital properties of GCs that formed in the same progenitor galaxies to predict the stellar masses and accretion redshifts of these progenitors. We apply the network to Galactic GCs associated with five progenitors: Gaia-Enceladus, the Helmi streams, Sequoia, Sagittarius, and the recently discovered, ‘low-energy’ GCs, which provide an excellent match to the predicted properties of the enigmatic galaxy ‘Kraken’. The five galaxies cover a narrow stellar mass range [M⋆ = (0.6 − 4.6) × 108 M⊙], but have widely different accretion redshifts (${z_{\rm acc}}=0.57{-}2.65$). All accretion events represent minor mergers, but Kraken likely represents the most major merger ever experienced by the Milky Way, with stellar and virial mass ratios of ${r_{M_\star }}=1$:$31^{+34}_{-16}$ and ${r_{M_{\rm h}}}=1$:$7^{+4}_{-2}$, respectively. The progenitors match the z = 0 relation between GC number and halo virial mass, but have elevated specific frequencies, suggesting an evolution with redshift. Even though these progenitors likely were the Milky Way’s most massive accretion events, they contributed a total mass of only log (M⋆, tot/M⊙) = 9.0 ± 0.1, similar to the stellar halo. This implies that the Milky Way grew its stellar mass mostly by in-situ star formation. We conclude by organising these accretion events into the most detailed reconstruction to date of the Milky Way’s merger tree.

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