Why might the central Bulge contain the greatest total mass of ancient stars despite the Halo hosting the oldest individuals?
Answer
Due to the high density of stars in the Bulge, even if the oldest individual stars are statistically in the Halo.
An important distinction exists between finding the single oldest star and finding the greatest quantity of old stars by mass. While the Galactic Halo is the repository for the most metal-poor and statistically oldest individual stars, the Galactic Bulge has a very high density of stars overall. If the Bulge formed rapidly in its early stages, this sheer concentration of material means that the total cumulative mass comprised of ancient, older stars within the central region could surpass the total mass of the more sparsely populated Halo population.
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