Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T17:07:00.239Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

What did we learn about the Milky Way during the last decade, and what shall we learn using Gaia and LSST?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2014

željko Ivezić
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 email: ivezic@astro.washington.edu
Timothy C. Beers
Affiliation:
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ, 85719, and JINA: Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics
Mario Jurić
Affiliation:
LSST Corporation and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721
Sarah R. Loebman
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 email: ivezic@astro.washington.edu
Michael Berry
Affiliation:
Physics and Astronomy Department, Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Studies of stellar populations have been reinvigorated during the last decade by the advent of large-area sky surveys such as SDSS, 2MASS, RAVE, and others. These data, together with theoretical and modeling advances, are revolutionizing our understanding of the nature of the Milky Way, and galaxy formation and evolution in general. The abundance of substructure in the multi-dimensional space of various observables, such as position, kinematics, and metallicity, is by now proven beyond doubt, and demonstrates the importance of mergers in the growth of galaxies. Unlike smooth models that involve simple components, the new data reviewed here clearly exhibit many irregular structures, such as the Sagittarius dwarf tidal stream and the Virgo and Pisces overdensities in the halo, and the Monoceros stream closer to the Galactic plane. These recent developments have made it clear that the Milky Way is a complex and dynamic structure, one that is still being shaped by the merging of neighboring smaller galaxies. Here we summarize developments over the last decade in our mapping of the stellar content of the Milky Way, as well as recent attempts to map the dark matter halo by Loebman et al. (2012) and ISM dust distribution by Berry et al. (2012). We also briefly discuss the next generation of wide-field sky surveys, exemplified by Gaia and LSST, which will improve measurement precision manyfold, and comprise billions of individual stars.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014 

References

Berry, M., Ivezić, Ž., Sesar, B.et al. 2012, ApJ, 757, 166Google Scholar
Bond, B., Ivezić, Ž., Sesar, B.et al. 2010, ApJ, 716, 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bovy, J., Rix, H.-W., & Hogg, D. W. 2012, ApJ, 751, 131Google Scholar
Bovy, J., & Tremaine, S. 2012, ApJ, 756, 89Google Scholar
Covey, K. R., Ivezić, Ž., Schlegel, D.et al. 2007, AJ, 134, 2398Google Scholar
Ivezić, Ž., Tyson, J. A., Acosta, E.et al. 2008a, arXiv:0805.2366Google Scholar
Ivezić, Ž., Sesar, B., Jurić, M.et al. 2008b, ApJ, 684, 287Google Scholar
Ivezić, Ž., Beers, T. C., & Jurić, M. 2012, ARAA, 50, 251Google Scholar
Jurić, M., Ivezić, Ž., Brooks, A.et al. 2008, ApJ, 673, 864Google Scholar
Lee, Y. S., Beers, T. C., An, D.et al. 2011, ApJ, 738, 187Google Scholar
Loebman, S. R., Ivezić, Ž., Quinn, T. R., et al. 2012, ApJ, 758, L23Google Scholar
Munn, J. A., Monet, D. G., Levine, S. E.et al. 2004, AJ, 136, 895CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rix, H.-W. & Bovy, J. 2013, A&AR, 21, 61Google Scholar
Sesar, B., Ivezić, Ž., Grammer, S. H.et al. 2010, ApJ, 708, 717Google Scholar
van der Marel, R. P. 1991, MNRAS, 248, 515Google Scholar
Wyse, R. F. G. 2006, arXiv:astro-ph/0701832Google Scholar