APOGEE: the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment. Insights into the Galactic Disk: A Review

Abstract

The SDSS Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has collected high resolution near-IR spectra for several hundred thousand stars throughout the Milky Way. We review some of the results related to chemistry of stars in the disk, where APOGEE has a particular advantage by virtue of being able to work in more obscured areas. The ability to measure carbon and nitrogen abundances in giants in the near-IR provides insight into stellar ages. We summarize results on the variation of mean metal…