Related papers: The Galactic Bar
This paper presents the results of a high-resolution imaging survey, using both ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope images, of a complete sample of nearby barred S0--Sa galaxies in the field, with a particular emphasis on identifying…
The current knowledge of the abundance structure in the Milky Way is reviewed. Special emphasis is put on recent results for stars with kinematics typical of the thin and the thick disks, respectively, and how these results can, apart from…
In this review I focus on a few selected topics, where recent theoretical and/or observational progress has been made and important developments are expected in the future. They include: 1) Evolution of isotopic ratios, 2) Mixing processes…
We review current knowledge on the structure, properties and evolution of galactic bulges, considering particularly common preconceptions in the light of recent observational results.
A review of elliptical galaxy dynamics, with a focus on nonintegrable models. Topics covered include torus construction; modelling axisymmetric galaxies; triaxiality; collisionless relaxation; and collective instabilities.
Cosmological gravitational microlensing is a useful technique for understanding the structure of the inner parts of a quasar, especially the accretion disk and the central supermassive black hole. So far, most of the cosmological…
We present here a thorough photometric analysis of double-barred galaxies, consisting of i) two-dimensional photometric decompositions including a bulge, inner bar, outer bar, and (truncated) disc; and ii) three-dimensional statistical…
The combination of strong gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics provides a powerful and robust method to investigate the mass and dynamical structure of early-type galaxies. We demonstrate this approach by analysing two massive…
A 3D steady state stellar dynamical model for the Galactic bar is constructed with 485 orbit building blocks using an extension of Schwarzschild technique. The weights of the orbits are assigned using non-negative least square method. The…
We examine the most recent observational constraints arising from i) small-scale and large-scale Galactic dynamical properties, ii) star counts at faint magnitude and iii) microlensing experiments. From these constraints, we determine the…
After a brief introduction to gravitational lensing theory, a rough overview of the types of gravitational lensing statistics that have been performed so far will be given. I shall then concentrate on recent results of galaxy-galaxy…
New constraints on the Milky Way's bar parameters are derived from the gaseous spiral structure within the Galactic bar, and in particular from the identification of the dustlanes leading the bar major axis.
The structure, kinematics and dynamics of the Galactic stellar halo are reviewed including evidence of substructure in the spatial distribution and kinematics of halo stars. Implications for galaxy formation theory are subsequently…
Recent data from the VVV survey have strengthened evidence for a structural change in the Galactic bulge inwards of |l|<=4 deg. Here we show with an N-body barred galaxy simulation that a boxy bulge formed through the bar and buckling…
The Galactic bulge is now considered to be the inner three-dimensional part of the Milky Way's bar. It has a peanut shape and is characterized by cylindrical rotation. In N-body simulations, box/peanut bulges arise from disks through bar…
Observations of the innermost parsec surrounding Sgr A$^*$ ---the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy--- have revealed a diversity of structures whose existence and characteristics apparently defy the fundamental principles…
A suite of vast stellar surveys mapping the Milky Way, culminating in the Gaia mission, is revolutionizing the empirical information about the distribution and properties of stars in the Galactic stellar disk. We review and lay out what…
The Galactic kinematics of Mira variables have been studied using infrared photometry, radial velocities, and Hipparcos parallaxes and proper motions. For Miras in the period range 145 to 200 days (probably corresponding to [Fe/H] in the…
For the intermediate-type barred galaxy NGC2336 stationary models are constructed which reproduce in a consistent manner the observed distribution of the luminous matter and the observed gas kinematics in those regions affected by the bar.…
The simple physics of microlensing provides a well-understood tool with which to probe the atmospheres of distant stars in the Galaxy and Local Group with high magnification and resolution. Recent results in measuring stellar surface…