Related papers: A spectroscopic map of the Galactic centre: Integr…

A parameterized model of the mass distribution within the Milky Way is fitted to the available observational constraints. The most important single parameter is the ratio of the scale length R_d* of the stellar disk to R0. The disk and…

We review our current understanding of the internal dynamical properties of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies surrounding the Milky Way. These are the most dark matter dominated galaxies, and as such may be considered ideal laboratories to test…

We used the PMAS integral field spectrograph to obtain large sets of radial velocities in the central regions of three northern Galactic globular clusters: M3, M13, and M92. By applying the novel technique of crowded field 3D spectroscopy,…

The formation of galaxies can be understood in terms of the assembly patterns of each type of galactic component. To perform this kind of analysis, is necessary to define some criteria to separate those components. Decomposition methods…

We present stellar metallicity measurements of more than 600 late-type stars in the central 10 pc of the Galactic centre. Together with our previously published KMOS data, this data set allows us to investigate, for the first time, spatial…

The rotation curves of regularly rotating disc galaxies are a unique probe of the gravitational potential and dark matter distribution. Until recently, matter decomposition of rotation curves at $z>0.5$ was challenging, not only due to the…

We present 1"-resolution ALMA observations of the circumnuclear disk (CND) and the environment around SgrA*. The images unveil the presence of small spatial scale CO (J=3-2) molecular "cloudlets" within the central pc of the Milky Way,…

The evolution of the Milky Way disk, which contains most of the stars in the Galaxy, is affected by several phenomena. For example, the bar and the spiral arms of the Milky Way induce radial migration of stars and can trap or scatter stars…

The center of the Milky Way is a unique environment of great astrophysical interest, but its extreme crowding and extinction make it difficult to study. The GALACTICNUCLEUS survey, a high-angular-resolution near-infrared imaging program,…

The Milky Way nuclear star cluster (NSC) is located within the nuclear stellar disc (NSD) in the Galactic centre. It is not fully understood if the formation and evolution of these two components are connected, and how they influence each…

If the supermassive black hole Sgr A* at the center of the Milky Way grew adiabatically from an initial seed embedded in an NFW dark matter (DM) halo, then the DM profile near the hole has steepened into a spike. We calculate the dramatic…

The black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy -- the Galactic Black Hole, or GBH -- is a rather modest representative of its class. With a mass of 4 x 10^6 solar masses, it is well over a thousand times less massive than the most…

The motion of the baryonic components of the Milky Way is governed by both luminous and dark matter content of the Galaxy. Thus, the dynamics of the Milky Way globular clusters can be used as tracers to infer the mass model of the Galaxy up…

This is a pedagogical review of recent results on the interactions of central massive black holes with stars very near them, focused on the black hole in the center of the Milky Way. Table of contents: [1] Introduction [2] Stellar dynamics…

Recent observational evidence indicates that the center of our Milky Way harbours a super-massive object with ultra-strong radial magnetic field (Eatough et al., 2013). Here we demonstrate that the radiations observed in the vicinity of the…

An up-to-date overview of the recent history is given, aiming to present a helpful working guide to the literature and at the same time introduce key systems and observational results, starting from the Sun and going towards the Galactic…

The motion of S2, one of the stars closest to the Galactic Centre, has been measured accurately and used to study the compact object at the centre of the Milky Way. It is commonly accepted that this object is a supermassive black hole but…

This review outlines the observations that now provide an overwhelming scientific case that the center of our Milky Way Galaxy harbors a supermassive black hole. Observations at infrared wavelength trace stars that orbit about a common…

The Galactic Center (GC) is an extreme region of the Milky Way that is host to a complex set of thermal and non-thermal structures. In particular, the GC contains high-density gas and dust that is collectively referred to as the Central…

We consider the origin of the so-called S stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the very center of the Galaxy. These are usually assumed to be massive main-sequence stars. We argue instead that they are the remnants of…