L4: Intersection of Disciplines

This line aims at merging the astronomical lines on chemical abundance determination and galaxy evolution modeling by building and analyzing trees and networks. Here is where the key idea of ERIS to apply the principles and methods of phylogenetics to the evolution of galaxies happens. Currently, the well-known distance method known as “Neighbor Joining” clustering in biology is being explored to construct phylogenetic trees based on chemical abundances. These abundances are obtained from observed stars or simulated stellar particles. Tree topologies are analyzed, compared among different datasets and interpreted to identify the main drivers of chemical evolution in galaxies like the Milky Way.