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Fig. 11.

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Density of the change in [ Fe / H ] ^ ( R birth $ \widehat{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}}(R_{\mathrm{birth}} $ = 0 kpc, τ) as a function of time after a (left) massive or (right) minor merger for all galaxies after all massive/minor mergers, until either another massive/minor merger occurs or no more stars form in the central 1 kpc. A positive change in [Fe/H] indicates that the projected metallicity in the central 1 kpc increased, while a negative value indicates that the projected [Fe/H] in the central kpc decreased. The projected metallicity at the galactic center does not necessarily decrease immediately after a merger, and a dilution in [ Fe / H ] ^ ( R birth $ \widehat{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}}(R_{\mathrm{birth}} $ = 0 kpc, τ) can take up to a few Gyr before diluting the projected galactic center in [Fe/H]. Even if [ Fe / H ] ^ ( R birth $ \widehat{\mathrm{[Fe/H]}}(R_{\mathrm{birth}} $ = 0 kpc, τ) does not dilute, there is a general trend that [Fe/H] enrichment slows down.

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