The G dwarf Metallicity Distribution and the Problem of Stellar Lifetimes Lower than the Disk Age

Abstract

We examine the possibility of the inclusion of objects having lifetimes lower than the disk age in the database of recent determinations of the G dwarf metallicity distribution for the solar neighbourhood. As a preliminary step, stars with lifetimes potentially lower than the disk age are identified by means of a relation between (b-y), or mass, and [Fe/H], from evolutionary models of stars at the zero-age main sequence. We apply these results to the G dwarf samples of Rocha-Pinto and Maciel (1996) and Wyse and Gilmore (1995). We show that the majority of G dwarfs in these samples can be regarded as long-lived objects for chemical evolution purposes, provided the disk age is greater than 12 Gyr. We also find that the G dwarf problem is not an effect of the metallicity dependence of the stellar lifetimes.