Chemo-dynamics of barred galaxies in the Auriga simulations: The in-situ formation of the Milky Way bulge

F. Fragkoudi, R. J. J. Grand, R. Pakmor, G. Blázquez-Calero, I. Gargiulo, F. Gomez, F. Marinacci, A. Monachesi, M. K. Ness, I. Perez, P. Tissera, S. D. M. White

Published 2019-11-15Version 1

We explore a sample of barred galaxies in the Auriga magneto-hydrodynamical cosmological zoom-in simulations that form boxy/peanut (b/p) bulges. The morphology of bars and b/p's vary for different mono-abundance populations, according to their kinematic properties, which are in turn set by the galaxy's assembly history. We find that the Auriga galaxies which best reproduce the chemo-kinematic properties of the Milky Way bulge have a negligible fraction of ex-situ stars in the b/p region ($<1\%$), with flattened, thick disc-like metal-poor stellar populations, and with their last major merger occurring at $t_{\rm lookback}>12\,\rm Gyrs$. This imposes an upper limit on the stellar mass ratio of subsequent mergers, which we find is broadly consistent with the recently proposed Gaia Sausage/Enceladus merger. The average fraction of ex-situ stars in the central regions of Auriga galaxies that form b/p's is $3\%$ -- significantly lower than in those which do not form bars or b/p's. While these central regions contain the oldest populations, they also have stars younger than 5Gyrs ($>30\%$) and exhibit X-shaped age and abundance distributions. Furthermore, we present a novel method, based on kinematics, for detecting asymmetric (buckling) b/p's in face-on galaxies. Examining the inner discs of galaxies in our sample, we find that in some cases a metal-rich, star-forming inner ring forms, which surrounds the bar. Further out, bar-induced resonances form ridges in the $V_{\phi}-r$ plane -- the longest of which is due to the Outer Lindblad Resonance -- which are younger and more metal-rich than the surrounding phase-space. Our results suggest an in-situ origin for the Milky Way bulge and highlight the significant effect the bar can have on the surrounding disc.