Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Kinematics at the edge of the galactic bulge
T2 - evidence for cylindrical rotation
AU - Howard, Christian D.
AU - Rich, R. Michael
AU - Clarkson, Will
AU - Mallery, Ryan
AU - Kormendy, John
AU - Propris, Roberto de
AU - Robin, Annie C.
AU - Fux, Roger
AU - Reitzel, David B.
AU - Zhao, HongSheng
AU - Kuijken, Konrad
AU - Koch, Andreas
PY - 2009/8/24
Y1 - 2009/8/24
N2 - We present new results from BRAVA, a large-scale radial velocity survey of the Galactic bulge, using M giant stars selected from the Two Micron All Sky Survey catalog as targets for the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 4 m Hydra multi-object spectrograph. The purpose of this survey is to construct a new generation of self-consistent bar models that conform to these observations. We report the dynamics for fields at the edge of the Galactic bulge at latitudes b = –8° and compare to the dynamics at b = –4°. We find that the rotation curve V(r) is the same at b = –8° as at b = –4°. That is, the Galactic boxy bulge rotates cylindrically, as do boxy bulges of other galaxies. The summed line-of-sight velocity distribution at b = –8° is Gaussian, and the binned longitude-velocity plot shows no evidence for either a (disk) population with cold dynamics or for a (classical bulge) population with hot dynamics. The observed kinematics are well modeled by an edge-on N-body bar, in agreement with published structural evidence. Our kinematic observations indicate that the Galactic bulge is a prototypical product of secular evolution in galaxy disks, in contrast with stellar population results that are most easily understood if major mergers were the dominant formation process.
AB - We present new results from BRAVA, a large-scale radial velocity survey of the Galactic bulge, using M giant stars selected from the Two Micron All Sky Survey catalog as targets for the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 4 m Hydra multi-object spectrograph. The purpose of this survey is to construct a new generation of self-consistent bar models that conform to these observations. We report the dynamics for fields at the edge of the Galactic bulge at latitudes b = –8° and compare to the dynamics at b = –4°. We find that the rotation curve V(r) is the same at b = –8° as at b = –4°. That is, the Galactic boxy bulge rotates cylindrically, as do boxy bulges of other galaxies. The summed line-of-sight velocity distribution at b = –8° is Gaussian, and the binned longitude-velocity plot shows no evidence for either a (disk) population with cold dynamics or for a (classical bulge) population with hot dynamics. The observed kinematics are well modeled by an edge-on N-body bar, in agreement with published structural evidence. Our kinematic observations indicate that the Galactic bulge is a prototypical product of secular evolution in galaxy disks, in contrast with stellar population results that are most easily understood if major mergers were the dominant formation process.
U2 - 10.1088/0004-637X/702/2/L153
DO - 10.1088/0004-637X/702/2/L153
M3 - Journal article
VL - 702
SP - L153-L157
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
SN - 2041-8205
IS - 2
ER -