Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) IX. The largest detailed chemical analysis of very metal-poor stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

The most metal-poor stars provide valuable insights into the early chemical enrichment history of a system, carrying the chemical imprints of the first generations of supernovae. The most metal-poor region of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy remains inadequately observed and characterised. To date, only a handful of stars with [Fe/H]$<-2.0$ have been chemically analysed with high-resolution spectroscopy. In this study, we present the most extensive chemical abundance analysis of 12 low-metallicity stars with metallicities down to [Fe/H]$=-3.26$ and located in the main body of Sagittarius. These targets, selected from the Pristine Inner Galaxy survey, were observed using the MIKE high-resolution spectrograph at the Magellan-Clay telescope, which allows us to measure up to 17 chemical species. The chemical composition of these stars reflects the imprint of a variety of type~II supernovae. A combination of low- to intermediate-mass core-collapse and hypernovae (~10-70 M_) is required to account for the abundance patterns of the lighter elements up to the Fe-peak. The trend of the heavy elements suggests the involvement of compact binary merger events and fast-rotating (up to ~300 km s⁻¹) intermediate-mass to massive metal-poor stars (~25-120 M_) that are the sources of rapid- and slow-processes, respectively. Additionally, asymptotic giant branch stars contribute to a wide dispersion of [Ba/Mg] and [Ba/Eu]. The absence of an α-knee in our data indicates that type Ia supernovae did not contribute in the very metal-poor region ( [Fe/H]≤-2.0). However, they might have started to pollute the interstellar medium at [Fe/H]$>-2.0$, given the relatively low [Co/Fe] in this metallicity region.