  Using the MIKE spectrograph, mounted on the 6.5 m Magellan/Clay telescope at
the Las Campanas observatory in Chile, we have obtained high-resolution spectra
for 60 F and G dwarf stars, all likely members of a density enhancement in the
local velocity distribution, referred to as the Hercules stream. Comparing with
an existing sample of 102 thin and thick disk stars we have used space
velocities, detailed elemental abundances, and stellar ages to trace the origin
of the Hercules stream. We find that the Hercules stream stars show a wide
spread in stellar ages, metallicities, and element abundances. However, the
spreads are not random but separate the Hercules stream into the abundance and
age trends as outlined by either the thin disk or the thick disk. We hence
claim that the major part of the Hercules stream actually are thin and thick
disk stars. These diverse properties of the Hercules stream point toward a
dynamical origin, probably caused by the Galactic bar. However, we can at the
moment not entirely rule out that the Hercules stream could be the remnants of
a relatively recent merger event.
