Chemical Abundance Gradients in the Star‐forming Ring Galaxies

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Abstract
Ring waves of star formation, propagating outward in the galactic disks, leave chemical abundance gradients in their wakes. We show that the relative [Fe/O] abundance gradients in ring galaxies can be used as a tool for determining the role of the SN Ia explosions in their chemical enrichment. We consider two mechanisms—a self-induced wave and a density wave—that can create outwardly propagating star-forming rings in a purely gaseous disk and demonstrate that the radial distribution of the relative [Fe/O] abundance gradients depends neither on the particular mechanism of the wave formation anor on the parameters of the star-forming process. We show that the [Fe/O] profile is determined by the velocity of the wave, the initial mass function, and the initial chemical composition of the star-forming gas. If the role of SN Ia explosions is negligible in the chemical enrichment, the ratio [Fe/O] remains constant throughout the galactic disk with a steep gradient at the wave front. If SN Ia stars are important in the production of cosmic iron, the [Fe/O] ratio has a gradient in the wake of the star-forming wave with the value depending on the frequency of SN Ia explosions.
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