Severo Ochoa Seminar by prof. Gerhard

On Tuesday September 23rd, the Severo Ochoa visitor Prof. Ortwin Gerhard, from the Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (Garching, Germany), will give a Severo Ochoa Seminar, entitled The New Milky Way Bar and Peanut Bulge

Start date: 23 Sep, 2014 - 10:30
End date: 23 Sep, 2014 - 12:00
Location: Aula, IAC Headquarters, Tenerife.
Organizer: IAC

Abstract:

Data from the VVV NIR survey of the inner Milky Way show that our Galaxy has a strongly peanut-shaped bulge. Extending the analysis to larger radii with other surveys shows that the long bar is aligned with the bulge out to about 20 degrees longitude, followed by a region of transition to the Galactic disk. Dynamical models based on the 3D bulge density and the BRAVA kinematic data allow us to determine the mass in the bulge region and to put constraints on the mass-to-light ratio and IMF of the bulge stars as well as on the bar's pattern speed.

Dr. Gerhard research interests include stellar dynamics, the structure of galaxies and galactic nuclei, the Milky Way galaxy, dark matter and intracluster stars. The focus of his work is theoretical with a strong interest in modelling observations.