  The elemental abundance distribution of stars encodes the history of the
gas-phase abundance in the Milky Way. Without a large, unbiased sample of
highly precise stellar ages, the exact timing and nature of this history must
be inferred from the abundances. In the two-dimensional plane of
[alpha/Fe]-[Fe/H], it is now clear that two separate populations exist -- the
low-alpha and high-alpha sequences. Structure in the elemental abundance
distribution can arise from many processes -- proposals include specific gas
infall scenarios, radial migration, high-redshift clump formation, and various
effects associated with galaxy mergers, among others. In this work, we
demonstrate another possible avenue for structure formation with clear
observational predictions. In this scenario, the Galaxy underwent a starburst
followed by a brief (hundreds of Myr) quiescent phase -- i.e., the Galaxy
underwent a post-starburst rejuvenation sequence at z~2. A natural consequence
of the quiescent phase is that stars in the valley of the bimodality do not
form because: (1) the absence of enrichment from high-mass stars leads to a
rapid reduction in [alpha/Fe], and (2) any time the gas spends in the abundance
valley is deemphasized in the present day distribution because the star
formation rate is lower. With a set of idealized merger simulations, we
demonstrate the feasibility of this proposal. This "phoenix hypothesis"
predicts a ~300 Myr gap in stellar ages at a fixed [Fe/H] and that stars which
form directly after this gap would have lower [alpha/Fe] than stars which form
slightly (~1 Gyr) later.
