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X. -W. Liu

Publications and source records attributed to X. -W. Liu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

SN 2025aico: Early observations of a faint Type IIb supernova with a low-mass envelope

We aimed to investigate the physical properties and the underlying explosion mechanisms of the Type IIb SN 2025aico. Through a comprehensive analysis of early-phase optical light curves and spectroscopic data, we aim to constrain the fundamental explosion parameters and evaluate the physical state of the event. We present early multi-band optical imaging and low-resolution optical spectroscopic follow-up observations of the Type IIb SN 2025aico, spanning approximately 70 days from the explosion. We constrain the properties of SN 2025aico by utilizing a hybrid model that combines shock-cooling emission and radioactively powered diffusion, as well as by analyzing the spectroscopic evolution. We use various approaches to constrain the 56Ni mixing from early data, and also compared our spectra with models to constrain the properties of the progenitor. The explosion epoch of SN 2025aico is estimated to be MJD 61032.69, while the rise time in the r_M-band is 22.30 +/- 0.70 days. The peak pseudo-bolometric luminosity in the optical bands is L_opt = (4.07 +/- 0.10) x 10^41 erg/s. The fitting yields a moderate to relatively low 56Ni mass of M_Ni = 0.033 +0.006/-0.004 M_sun and an ejecta mass of M_ej = 2.79 +0.21/-0.18 M_sun. The photospheric velocity near the bolometric peak, measured from the Fe II lambda 5169 line, is 6450 +180/-160 km/s. The derived envelope properties suggest a compact He-star progenitor possessing an H-rich envelope of M_env approx. 0.01 M_sun and a radius of R_env approx. 6-10 R_sun. The derived physical properties of SN 2025aico indicate an origin from a moderate-mass, stripped He-star in a compact binary system, characterized by a minimal residual hydrogen envelope. The explosion itself demonstrates weak to moderate 56Ni mixing throughout the ejecta.

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An energetic dirty fireball detected in soft X-rays

The collapse of massive stars drives explosions that power relativistic fireballs. If only a small amount of matter is entrained, such clean fireballs can expand with Lorentz factors $Γ> 100$, accounting for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). It has been hypothesized that energetic explosions with more baryon contamination, dubbed ``dirty fireballs'', may exist in nature, but they have not been observed. Here we report the observation of an extragalactic fast X-ray transient, EP241113a, detected by Einstein Probe. Compared to GRBs, it has a similar isotropic energy of $1.4\times 10^{51}$ erg, but significantly lower spectral peak energy. Theoretical modeling of its early X-ray afterglow suggests a relativistic jet with a low Lorentz factor of $Γ\sim 20$ aligned close to the line-of-sight, signifying the prototype of a dirty fireball.

astro-ph.HE

Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium XII. SN 2024acyl: A fast, linearly declining Type Ibn supernova with early flash-ionisation features

We present a photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the Type Ibn supernova (SN) 2024acyl. It rises to an absolute magnitude peak of about -17.58 mag in 10.6 days, and displays a rapid linear post-peak light-curve decline in all bands, similar to most SNe Ibn. The optical pseudobolometric light curve peaks at $(3.5\pm0.8) \times 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$, with a total radiated energy of $(5.0\pm0.4) \times 10^{48}$ erg. The spectra are dominated by a blue continuum at early stages, with narrow P Cygni He I lines and flash-ionisation emission lines of C III, N III, and He II. The P Cygni He I features gradually evolve and become emission-dominated in late-time spectra. Our multi-band light-curve modelling yields estimates of the ejecta mass of $M_{\rm ej} = 0.49^{+0.11}_{-0.09}$ M$_\odot$ with a kinetic energy of $E_{\rm k} = 0.06^{+0.01}_{-0.01} \times 10^{51}$ erg, and a $^{56}$Ni mass of $M_{\rm Ni} = 0.018$ M$_\odot$. The inferred CSM properties are characterised by a mass of $M_{\rm CSM} = 0.51^{+0.05}_{-0.04}$ M$_\odot$, an inner radius of $R_0 = 17.8^{+3.6}_{-3.0}$ AU, and a density of $ρ_{\rm CSM} =(8.3_{-1.2}^{+2.7})\times10^{-12}$ g cm$^{-3}$. The multi-epoch spectra are well reproduced by the CMFGEN/he4p0 model, corresponding to a He-ZAMS mass of 4 M$_\odot$ (H-ZAMS mass 18.11 M$_\odot$, pre-SN mass 3.16 M$_\odot$). These findings are consistent with a scenario of an SN powered by ejecta-CSM interaction, originating from a low-mass helium star that evolved within an interacting binary system where the CSM with some residual hydrogen may originate from the mass-transfer process. In addition, a channel of core-collapse explosion of a late-type Wolf-Rayet star with H, or an Ofpe/WN9 star with fallback accretion, cannot be entirely ruled out.

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SN 2022ngb: A faint, slowly evolving Type IIb supernova with a low-mass envelope

An extensive photometric and spectroscopic follow-up campaign of the Type IIb SN 2022ngb is presented in the article. Through detailed modeling of this dataset, we aim to constrain the key physical parameters of the explosion, infer the nature of the progenitor star and its environment, and probe the dynamical properties of the ejecta. We analyze photometric and spectroscopic data of SN 2022ngb. By constructing and modeling the bolometric light curve with semi-analytic models, we estimate the primary explosion parameters. The spectroscopic data are compared with those of well-studied SNe IIb and NLTE models to constrain the properties of the progenitor and the structure of the resulting ejecta. SN 2022ngb is a low-luminosity SN IIb with a peak bolometric luminosity of L_bol = 7.76 (+1.15/-1.00) x 10^41 erg/s and a V-band rising time of 24.32 +/- 0.50 days. Light curve modeling indicates an ejecta mass of ~2.9-3.2 M_sun, an explosion energy of ~1.4 x 10^51 erg, and a low synthesized 56Ni mass of ~0.045 M_sun. Nebular phase spectra exhibit asymmetric line profiles, pointing to a non-spherical explosion and an anisotropic distribution of radioactive material. Our analysis reveals a relatively compact stripped-envelope progenitor with a pre-SN mass of approximately 4.7 M_sun (corresponding to a 15-16 M_sun ZAMS star). Our analysis suggests that SN 2022ngb originated from the explosion of a moderate-mass relatively compact, stripped-envelope star in a binary system. The asymmetries inferred from the nebular phase spectral line features suggest a non-spherical explosion.

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Discovery and Analysis of Afterglows from Poorly Localised GRBs with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) All-sky Survey

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), particularly those detected by wide-field instruments such as the Fermi/GBM, pose a challenge for optical follow-up due to their large initial localisation regions, leaving many GRBs without identified afterglows. The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), with its wide field of view, dual-site coverage, and robotic rapid-response capability, bridges this gap by rapidly identifying and localising afterglows from alerts issued by space-based facilities, including Fermi, SVOM, Swift, and EP, providing early optical positions for coordinated multiwavelength follow-up. In this paper, we present optical afterglow localisation and multiband follow-up of five Fermi/GBM (240619A, 240910A, 240916A, 241002B, and 241228B) and two MAXI/GSC (240122A and 240225B) triggered long GRBs (LGRBs) discovered by GOTO in 2024. Spectroscopy for six GRBs (no spectroscopic data for GRB 241002B) with VLT/X-shooter and GTC/OSIRIS yields precise redshifts spanning $z\approx0.40-$3.16 and absorption-line diagnostics of host and intervening systems. Radio detections for four events confirm the presence of long-lived synchrotron emission. Prompt-emission analysis with Fermi and MAXI data reveals a spectrally hard population, with two bursts lying $>3σ$ above the Amati relation. Although their optical afterglows resemble those of typical LGRBs, the prompt spectra are consistently harder than the LGRBs' average. Consistent modelling of six GOTO-discovered GRB afterglows yields jet half-opening angles of a few degrees and beaming-corrected kinetic energies ($E_{jet}\sim10^{51-52}$)erg, consistent with the canonical LGRB population. These findings suggest that optical discovery of poorly localised GRBs may be subject to observational biases favouring luminous events with high spectral peak energy, while also providing insight into jet microphysics and central engine diversity.

astro-ph.HE

Vertical Structure of Interstellar Dust in the Milky Way

Interstellar dust plays a central role in the evolution of galaxies by shaping star formation, altering observed stellar properties, and redistributing radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. In the Milky Way, dust is concentrated in the Galactic disk and often associated with large-scale structures such as spiral arms and molecular clouds. Here we present a detailed analysis of the vertical distribution and substructure of interstellar dust using a sample of approximately 23 million stars from literature with high-precision extinction measurements. We derive three-dimensional dust density profiles along various sightlines and fit vertical dust distributions using both single and double exponential disk models across 12 Galactocentric radial bins from $\sim$6 to $\sim$12\,kpc. We show that a two-component disk model--comprising a ``thin'' and a ``thick'' dust disk--provides a better fit to the vertical dust profile than a single exponential disk, as indicated by Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) comparisons. The thin and thick disks have average scale heights of $81.0 \pm 6.7$\,pc and $152.0 \pm 7.0$\,pc, respectively. Our results also identify significant dust substructures, which align well with known spiral arms, molecular clouds, and star-forming regions.

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An extremely soft and weak fast X-ray transient associated with a luminous supernova

Long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs), including their subclasses of low-luminosity GRBs (LL-GRBs) and X-ray flashes (XRFs) characterized by low spectral peak energies, are known to be associated with broad-lined Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL), which result from the core collapse of massive stars that lose their outer hydrogen and helium envelopes. However, the soft and weak end of the GRB/XRF population remains largely unexplored, due to the limited sensitivity to soft X-ray emission. Here we report the discovery of a fast X-ray transient, EP250108a, detected by the Einstein Probe (EP) in the soft X-ray band at redshift $z = 0.176$, which was followed up by extensive multiband observations. EP250108a shares similar X-ray luminosity as XRF\,060218, the prototype of XRFs, but it extends GRBs/XRFs down to the unprecedentedly soft and weak regimes, with its $E_{\rm peak} \lesssim 1.8\,\mathrm{keV}$ and $E_{\rm iso} \lesssim 10^{49}\, \mathrm{erg}$, respectively. Meanwhile, EP250108a is found to be associated with SN\,2025kg, one of the most luminous and possibly magnetar-powered SNe Ic-BL detected so far. Modeling of the well-sampled optical light curves favors a mildly relativistic outflow as the origin of this event. This discovery demonstrates that EP, with its unique capability, is opening a new observational window into the diverse outcomes of death of massive stars.

astro-ph.HE

The distances of 61 PGCCs in the Second Galactic Quadrant

Determining the distances to the Planck Galactic cold clumps (PGCCs) is crucial for the measurement of their physical parameters and the study of their Galactic distribution. Based on two large catalogues of stars with robust distances and reddening estimates from the literature, we have estimated accurate distances to 61 PGCCs in the second Galactic quadrant. For this purpose, we have selected stars along the sightlines overlapping with the cores of the sample clumps and fitted the reddening profiles with a simple reddening model. The typical uncertainties of the resultant distances of these PGCCs are less than 8 per cent. The new estimates differ significantly from the kinematic values, well known to suffer from large errors. With the new distances, we have updated the physical properties including the radii, masses and virial parameters of the cores of the PGCCs.

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Three-Dimensional Distribution of the Interstellar Dust in the Milky Way

We present a three-dimensional (3D) extinction map of the southern sky. The map covers the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS) area of $\sim$ 14,000 ${\rm deg^{2}}$ and has spatial resolutions between 6.9 and 27 arcmin. Based on the multi-band photometry of SMSS, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Survey and the Gaia mission, we have estimated values of the $r$-band extinction for $\sim$ 19 million stars with the spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis. Together with the distances calculated from the Gaia data release 2 (DR2) parallaxes, we have constructed a three-dimensional extinction map of the southern sky. By combining our 3D extinction map with those from the literature, we present an all-sky 3D extinction map, and use it to explore the 3D distribution of the Galactic dust grains. We use two different models, one consisting a single disk and another of two disks, to fit the 3D distribution of the Galactic dust grains. The data is better fitted by a two-disk model, yielding smaller values of the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The best fit model has scale heights of 73 and 225 pc for the "thin" and "thick" dust disks, respectively.

astro-ph.GA

The white dwarf binary pathways survey V. The Gaia white dwarf plus AFGK binary sample and the identification of 23 close binaries

Close white dwarf binaries consisting of a white dwarf and an A, F, G or K type main sequence star, henceforth close WD+AFGK binaries, are ideal systems to understand the nature of type Ia supernovae progenitors and to test binary evolution models. In this work we identify 775 WD+AFGK candidates from TGAS (The Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution) and Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2), a well-defined sample of stars with available parallaxes, and we measure radial velocities (RVs) for 275 of them with the aim of identifying close binaries. The RVs have been measured from high resolution spectra obtained at the Xinglong 2.16m Telescope and the San Pedro Mártir 2.12m Telescope and/or from available LAMOST DR6 (low-resolution) and RAVE DR5 (medium-resolution) spectra. We identify 23 WD+AFGK systems displaying more than 3$σ$ RV variation among 151 systems for which the measured values are obtained from different nights. Our WD+AFGK binary sample contains both AFGK dwarfs and giants, with a giant fraction $\sim$43%. The close binary fractions we determine for the WD+AFGK dwarf and giant samples are $\simeq$24% and $\simeq$15%, respectively. We also determine the stellar parameters (i.e. effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, mass and radius) of the AFGK companions with available high resolution spectra. The stellar parameter distributions of the AFGK companions that are members of close and wide binary candidates do not show statistically significant differences.

astro-ph.SR

Mapping the Galactic disk with the LAMOST and Gaia red clump sample: IV: the kinematic signature of the Galactic warp

Using a sample of nearly 140,000 red clump stars selected from the LAMOST and Gaia Galactic surveys, we have mapped mean vertical velocity $\overline{V_{z}}$ in the $X$-$Y$ plane for a large volume of the Galactic disk (6 $< R < 16$ kpc; $-20 <ϕ< 50^{\circ}$; $|Z| < 1$ kpc). A clear signature where $\overline{V_{z}}$ increases with $R$ is detected for the chemically thin disk. The signature for the thick disk is however not significant, in line with the hot nature of this disk component. For the thin disk, the warp signature shows significant variations in both radial and azimuthal directions, in excellent agreement with the previous results of star counts. Fitting the two-dimensional distribution of $\overline{V_{z}}$ with a simple long-lived static warp model yields a line-of-node angle for this kinematic warp of about $12.5^{\circ}$, again consistent with the previous results.

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Probing the galactic halo with RR Lyrae stars I: The catalog

We present a catalog of 5,290 RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) with metallicities estimated from spectra of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) surveys. Nearly 70 per cent of them (3,642 objects) also have systemic radial velocities measured. Given the pulsating nature of RRLs, metallicity estimates are based on spectra of individual exposures, by matching them with the synthetic templates. The systemic radial velocities are measured by fitting the observed velocity as a function of phase assuming an empirical pulsating velocity template curve. Various tests show that our analyses yield metallicities with a typical precision of 0.20\,dex and systemic radial velocities with uncertainties ranging from 5 to 21\,km\,s$^{-1}$ (depending on the number of radial velocity measurements available for a given star). Based on the well calibrated near-infrared $PM_{W1}Z$ or $PM_{K_{\rm s}}Z$, and $M_{V}$-[Fe/H] relations, precise distances are derived for these RRLs. Finally, we include Gaia DR2 proper motions in our catalog. The catalog should be very useful for various Galactic studies, especially of the Galactic halo.

astro-ph.SR

A catalogue of H$α$ emission-line point sources in the vicinity fields of M31 and M33 from the LAMOST survey

We present a catalogue of 3,305 H$α$ emission-line point sources observed with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) in the vicinity fields of M31 and M33 during September 2011 and January 2016. The catalogue contains 1,487 emission-line stars, 532 emission-line nebulae including 377 likely planetary nebulae (PNe), 83 H~{\textsc{ii}} regions candidates and 20 possible supernovae remnants (SNRs) and 1,286 unknown objects. Among them, 24 PN candidates, 19 H~{\sc ii} region candidates, 10 SNR candidates and 1 symbiotic star candidate are new discoveries. Radial velocities and fluxes estimated from the H$α$ line and those quantities of seven other major emission lines including H$β$, [O~{\textsc{iii}}]~$λ$4959, [O~{\textsc{iii}}]~$λ$5007, [N~{\textsc{ii}}]~$λ$6548, [N~{\textsc{ii}}]~$λ$6583, [S~{\textsc{ii}}]~$λ$6717 and [S~{\textsc{ii}}]~$λ$6731 lines of all the catalogued sources yielded from the LAMOST spectra are also presented in our catalogue. Our catalogue is an ideal starting point to study the chemistry properties and kinematics of M31 and M33.

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A large catalogue of molecular clouds with accurate distances within 4 kpc of the Galactic disk

We present a large, homogeneous catalogue of molecular clouds within 4 kpc from the Sun at low Galactic latitudes ($|b|$ $<$ 10\degr) with unprecedented accurate distance determinations. Based on the three-dimensional dust reddening map and estimates of colour excesses and distances of over 32 million stars presented in Chen et al, we have identified 567 dust/molecular clouds with a hierarchical structure identification method and obtained their distance estimates by a dust model fitting algorithm. The typical distance uncertainty is less than 5 per cent. As far as we know, this is the first large catalogue of molecular clouds in the Galactic plane with distances derived in a direct manner. The clouds are seen to lie along the Sagittarius, Local and Perseus Arms. In addition to the known structures, we propose the existence of a possible {\it spur}, with a pitch angle of about 34\degr, connecting the Local and the Sagittarius Arms in the fourth quadrant. We have also derived the physical properties of those molecular clouds. The distribution of cloud properties in different parameter spaces agrees grossly with the previous results. Our cloud sample is an ideal starting point to study the concentration of dust and gas in the solar vicinity and their star formation activities.

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Milky Way tomography with the SkyMapper Southern Survey: I: Atmospheric parameters and distances of one million red giants

Accurate determinations of atmospheric parameters (effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}$, surface gravity log $g$ and metallicity [Fe/H]) and distances for large complete samples are of vital importance for various Galactic studies. We have developed a photometric method to select red giant stars and estimate their atmospheric parameters from the photometric colors provided by the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS) data release (DR) 1.1, using stars in common with the LAMOST Galactic spectroscopic surveys as a training set. Distances are estimated with two different approaches: one based on the Gaia DR2 parallaxes for nearby ($d \leq 4.5$ kpc) bright stars and another based on the absolute magnitudes predicted by intrinsic color $(g-i)_0$ and photometric metallicity [Fe/H] for distant ($d > 4.5$ kpc) faint stars. Various tests show that our method is capable of delivering atmospheric parameters with a precision of $\sim$80 K for $T_{\rm eff}$, $\sim$0.18 dex for [Fe/H] and $\sim$0.35 dex for log $g$, but with a significant systematic error at log $g \sim$ 2.3. For distances delivered from $(g-i)_0$ and photometric [Fe/H], our test with the member stars of globular clusters show a median uncertainty of 16 per cent with a negligible zero-point offset. Using this method, atmospheric parameters and distances of nearly one million red giant stars are derived from SMSS DR1.1. Proper motion measurements from Gaia DR2 are available for almost all of the red giant stars, and radial velocity measurements from several large spectroscopic surveys are available for 44 per cent of these. This sample will be accessible online at https://yanghuang0.wixsite.com/yangh/research .

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The Galactic disc phase spirals at different Galactic positions revealed by Gaia and LAMOST data

We have investigated the distributions of stellar azimuthal and radial velocity components $V_Φ$ and $V_{R}$ in the vertical position-velocity plane $Z$-$V_{Z}$ across the Galactic disc of $6.34 \lesssim R \lesssim 12.34$\,kpc and $|Φ| \lesssim 7.5^{\circ}$ using a Gaia and Gaia-LAMOST sample of stars. As found in previous works, the distributions exhibit significant spiral patterns. The $V_{R}$ distributions also show clear quadrupole patterns, which are the consequence of the well-known tilt of the velocity ellipsoid. The observed spiral and quadrupole patterns in the phase space plane vary strongly with radial and azimuthal positions. The phase spirals of $V_Φ$ become more and more relaxed as $R$ increases. The spiral patterns of $V_Φ$ and $V_{R}$ and the quadrupole patterns of $V_{R}$ are strongest at $-2^{\circ} < Φ< 2^{\circ}$ but negligible at $4^{\circ} < Φ< 6^{\circ}$ and $-6^{\circ} < Φ< -4^{\circ}$. Our results suggest an external origin of the phase spirals. In this scenario, the intruder, most likely the previously well-known Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, passed through the Galactic plane in the direction towards either Galactic center or anti-center. The azimuthal variations of the phase spirals also help us constrain the passage duration of the intruder. A detailed model is required to reproduce the observed radial and azimuthal variations of the phase spirals of $V_Φ$ and $V_{R}$.

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Three-dimensional interstellar dust reddening maps of the Galactic plane

We present new three-dimensional (3D) interstellar dust reddening maps of the Galactic plane in three colours, E(G-Ks), E(Bp-Rp) and E(H-Ks). The maps have a spatial angular resolution of 6 arcmin and covers over 7000 deg$^2$ of the Galactic plane for Galactic longitude 0 deg $<$ $l$ $<$ 360 deg and latitude $|b|$ $<$ $10$ deg. The maps are constructed from robust parallax estimates from the Gaia Data Release 2 (Gaia DR2) combined with the high-quality optical photometry from the Gaia DR2 and the infrared photometry from the 2MASS and WISE surveys. We estimate the colour excesses, E(G-Ks), E(Bp-Rp) and E(H-Ks), of over 56 million stars with the machine learning algorithm Random Forest regression, using a training data set constructed from the large-scale spectroscopic surveys LAMOST, SEGUE and APOGEE. The results reveal the large-scale dust distribution in the Galactic disk, showing a number of features consistent with the earlier studies. The Galactic dust disk is clearly warped and show complex structures possibly spatially associated with the Sagittarius, Local and Perseus arms. We also provide the empirical extinction coefficients for the Gaia photometry that can be used to convert the colour excesses presented here to the line-of-sight extinction values in the Gaia photometric bands.

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Metallicity distributions of mono-age stellar populations of the Galactic disc from the LAMOST Galactic spectroscopic surveys

We have investigated the metallicity distributions of mono-age stellar populations across the disc of $6 \lesssim R \lesssim 12$\,kpc and $|Z| \lesssim 2$\,kpc using samples selected from the main-sequence turn-off and sub-giant (MSTO-SG) stars targeted by the LAMOST Galactic Spectroscopic surveys. Both the mean values and the profiles of the distributions exhibit significant variations with age and position. We confirm that the oldest ($>11$\,Gyr) stars have nearly flat radial [Fe/H] gradients at all heights above the disc but show negative vertical [Fe/H] gradients. For stars younger than 11\,Gyr, the radial [Fe/H] gradients flatten with $|Z|$, while the vertical [Fe/H] gradients flatten with $R$. Stars of 4--6\,Gyr exhibit steeper negative radial [Fe/H] gradients than those of either younger or older ages. Values of [$α$/Fe] of mono-age stellar populations also show significant radial and vertical gradients, with patterns varying with age. The [Fe/H] distribution profiles of old ($>8$\,Gyr) stars vary little with $R$, while those of younger stars exhibit strong radial variations, probably a consequence of significant radial migration. The [$α$/Fe] radial distribution profiles show opposite patterns of variations with age compared to those of [Fe/H]. We have also explored the impacts of stellar mixing by epicycle motions (blurring) on the [Fe/H] and [$α$/Fe] distributions, and found that blurring mainly change the widths of the distribution profiles. Our results suggest that the disc may have experienced a complex assemblage history, in which both the "inside-out" and "upside-down" formation processes may have played an important role.

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