Related papers: Formation Models of the Galactic Bulge
We examine the metallicity trends in the Milky Way (MW) bulge - using APOGEE DR13 data - and explore their origin by comparing two N-body models of isolated galaxies which develop a bar and a boxy/peanut (b/p) bulge. Both models have been…
Some observations indicate that the Milky Way has two inner components, a bulge and a long bar, which present a misalignment of about 20 degrees that is against the predictions of some theoretical models that are based on numerical…
The inner $\sim5$ kiloparsec (kpc) region of the Milky Way is complex. Unravelling the evolution of the Galaxy requires precise understanding of the formation of this region. We report a study focused on disentangling the inner Galaxy ($r <…
We present the kinematic results from our ARGOS spectroscopic survey of the Galactic bulge of the Milky Way. Our aim is to understand the formation of the Galactic bulge. We examine the kinematics of about 17,400 stars in the bulge located…
It has recently been discovered that the Galactic bulge is X-shaped, with the two southern arms of the X both crossing the lines of sight at l=0 and |b|>4, hence producing a double red clump (RC) in the bulge CMD. Dynamical models predict…
The Galactic bulge of the Milky Way is made up of stars with a broad range of metallicity, -3.0 < [Fe/H] < 1 dex. The mean of the Metallicity Distribution Function (MDF) decreases as a function of height z from the plane and, more weakly,…
Recent large scale surveys of galactic bulge stars allowed to build a detailed map of the bulge kinematics. The bulge exhibits cylindrical rotation consistent with a disky origin which evolved through bar driven secular evolution. However…
The Milky Way has a barred bulge. This article summarizes the current understanding of the main structural parameters and pattern speed of the bar, and compares predicted values for the microlensing optical depth with the bulge microlensing…
Properties of normal galactic star formation, including the density dependence, threshold density, turbulent scaling relations, and clustering properties, are applied to the formation of galactic bulges. One important difference is that the…
Many barred galaxies, possibly including the Milky Way, have cusps in the centres. There is a widespread belief, however, that usual bar instability taking place in bulgeless galaxy models is impossible for the cuspy models, because of the…
We investigate the inner regions of the Milky Way with a sample of unprecedented size and coverage thanks to APOGEE DR16 and Gaia EDR3 data. Our inner Galactic sample has more than 26,000 stars within $|X_{\rm Gal}| <5$ kpc, $|Y_{\rm Gal}|…
We review internal processes of secular evolution in galaxy disks, concentrating on the buildup of dense central features that look like classical, merger-built bulges but that were made slowly out of disk gas. We call these pseudobulges.…
I discuss results from the COSMOS survey, showing that the fraction of disc galaxies that is barred decreases considerably with look-back time from z ~ 0.2 to z ~ 0.8. This decrease is more important for small mass and low luminosity…
We present Ks-band surface photometry of NGC 7690 (Hubble type Sab) and NGC 4593 (SBb). We find that, in both galaxies, a major part of the "bulge" is as flat as the disk and has approximately the same color as the inner disk. In other…
This is the summary chapter of a review book on galaxy bulges. Bulge properties and formation histories are more varied than those of ellipticals. I emphasize two advances: 1 - "Classical bulges" are observationally indistinguishable from…
The observations and evolution of clumpy, high-redshift galaxies are reviewed. Models suggest that the clumps form by gravitational instabilities in a gas-rich disk, interact with each other gravitationally, and then merge in the center…
Near the minor axis of the Galactic bulge, at latitudes b < -5 degrees, the red giant clump stars are split into two components along the line of sight. We investigate this split using the three fields from the ARGOS survey that lie on the…
It is widely accepted that within the framework of LCDM a significant fraction of giant-disk galaxies has recently experienced a violent galactic merger. We present numerical simulations of such major mergers of gas-rich pure disk galaxies,…
Our Galaxy is known to contain a central boxy/peanut-shaped bulge, yet the importance of a classical, pressure-supported component within the central part of the Milky Way is still being debated. It should be most visible at low…
I review some of the work on bars which is closely linked to the bar/bulge system in our Galaxy. Several independent studies, using totally independent methods, come to the same results about the 3D structure of a bar, i.e., that a bar is…