Bibcode
Cabrera-Lavers, A.; González-Fernández, C.; Garzón, F.; Hammersley, P. L.; López-Corredoira, M.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 491, Issue 3, 2008, pp.781-787
Advertised on:
12
2008
Journal
Citations
92
Refereed citations
84
Description
Context: Over the past decade there have been a series of results
supporting the hypothesis of the existence of a long thin bar in the
Milky Way with a half-length of 4.5 kpc and a position angle of around
45°. This is apparently a very different structure from the triaxial
bulge of the Galaxy, which is thicker and shorter and dominates the star
counts at |l|<10°. Aims: In this paper, we analyse the
stellar distribution in the inner Galaxy to see if there is clear
evidence for two triaxial or bar-like structures in the Milky Way. Methods: By using the red-clump population as a tracer of Galactic
structure, we determine the apparent morphology of the inner Galaxy.
Deeper and higher spatial-resolution near infrared photometry from the
UKIDSS Galactic plane survey allows us to use in-plane data even at the
innermost Galactic longitudes, a region where the source confusion is a
dominant effect that makes it impossible to use other databases, such as
2MASS or TCS-CAIN. Results: We show that results previously
obtained with the red-clump giants are confirmed with the in-plane data
from UKIDSS GPS. There are two different structures coexisting in the
inner Galactic plane: one with a position angle of 23.6- ° ±
2.19 ° that can be traced from the Galactic centre up to ~10°
(the Galactic bulge), and other with a larger position angle of 42.44
° ± 2.14 °, that ends around l=28° (the long Galactic
bar).
Related projects
Morphology and dynamics of the Milky Way
This project consists of two parts, each differentiated but both complementary: morphology and dynamics. Detailed study of the morphology of the Milky Way pretends to provide a data base for the stellar distribution in the most remote and heavily obscured regions of our Galaxy, through the development of semiempirical models based on the
Martín
López Corredoira
Traces of Galaxy Formation: Stellar populations, Dynamics and Morphology
We are a large, diverse, and very active research group aiming to provide a comprehensive picture for the formation of galaxies in the Universe. Rooted in detailed stellar population analysis, we are constantly exploring and developing new tools and ideas to understand how galaxies came to be what we now observe.
Ignacio
Martín Navarro