Beryllium abundances and the formation of the halo and the thick disk
  The single stable isotope of beryllium is a pure product of cosmic-ray
spallation in the ISM. Assuming that the cosmic-rays are globally transported
across the Galaxy, the beryllium production should be a widespread process and
its abundance should be roughly homogeneous in the early-Galaxy at a given
time. Thus, it could be useful as a tracer of time. In an investigation of the
use of Be as a cosmochronometer and of its evolution in the Galaxy, we found
evidence that in a log(Be/H) vs. [alpha/Fe] diagram the halo stars separate
into two components. One is consistent with predictions of evolutionary models
while the other is chemically indistinguishable from the thick-disk stars. This
is interpreted as a difference in the star formation history of the two
components and suggests that the local halo is not a single uniform population
where a clear age-metallicity relation can be defined. We also found evidence
that the star formation rate was lower in the outer regions of the thick disk,
pointing towards an inside-out formation.
