Shiva and Shakti: Presumed Proto-Galactic Fragments in the Inner Milky Way

Abstract

Using Gaia Data Release 3 astrometry and spectroscopy, we study two new substructures in the orbit–metallicity space of the inner Milky Way: Shakti and Shiva. They were identified as two confined, high-contrast overdensities in the ( L z , E ) distribution of bright ( G < 16) and metal-poor (−2.5