A simulation-based inference of the Milky Way merger history

Abstract

Accreted stars in the Milky Way (MW) preserve information about the progenitor galaxies where they formed in their chemical and kinematic properties. In this study, we use the chemo-dynamical signatures in the merger debris to approximate the posterior distribution of disrupted satellite properties at the time of infall. Adopting a simulation-based inference framework, we train an ensemble of normalizing flows using samples of merger debris from the Auriga suite of simulations of MW-like galaxies. Applying this methodology to a local sample of accreted stars in the MW, we infer the lookback times, stellar and halo masses, and halo mass merger ratios of several known accretion events in the Galaxy: Gaia Enceladus-Sausage (GES), Helmi streams, Heracles, I'itoi, LMS-1/Wukong, Sagittarius (Sgr), Sequoia and Thamnos. Our predictions align with the accretion time and mass estimates from the literature, and the expected relation between the progenitor stellar masses and debris metallicities across redshifts. The total stellar mass accreted from these events is predicted to be $2.2^{+1.1}_{-0.6}\times10^{9}~\rm{M_{\odot}}$, with GES and Sgr being the largest contributors. The predicted stellar mass accreted from fully disrupted progenitors in the stellar halo is $1.3^{+1.0}_{-0.5}\times10^{9}~\rm{M_{\odot}}$, which is consistent with previous mass measurements of this component. We provide a prediction for the evolution of the MW halo mass until the accretion of Sgr ($z\approx1$): specifically, we find that the mass growth of the Galaxy from the time of its first merger ($z\approx5$) to $z\approx2$ exceeds the total mass of the known progenitors accreted during that interval, suggesting the presence of unidentified substructures. Our estimate of the Galaxy halo mass after the Sgr merger, but prior to the accretion of the Magellanic Clouds, is $5.9^{+1.4}_{-1.1}\times10^{11}~\rm{M_{\odot}}$.