Stellar density map of the Milky Way

DOI

We map the stellar structure of the Galactic thick disk and halo by applying color-magnitude diagram (CMD) fitting to photometric data from the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) survey. The SEGUE imaging scans allow, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of Milky Way structure at both high and low latitudes using uniform Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry. Incorporating photometry of all relevant stars simultaneously, CMD fitting bypasses the need to choose single tracer populations. Using old stellar populations of differing metallicities as templates, we obtain a sparse three-dimensional map of the stellar mass distribution at |Z|>1kpc. Fitting a smooth Milky Way model comprising exponential thin and thick disks and an axisymmetric power-law halo allows us to constrain the structural parameters of the thick disk and halo. The thick-disk scale height and length are well constrained at 0.75+/-0.07kpc and 4.1+/-0.4kpc, respectively.

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/714/663/table1 (Stellar density maps)

Identifier
DOI http://doi.org/10.26093/cds/vizier.17140663
Source https://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/lp/custom/CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/714/663
Related Identifier https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/714/663
Related Identifier http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/714/663
Metadata Access http://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/pmh/pubreg.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_b2find&identifier=ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/714/663
Provenance
Creator de Jong J.T.A.; Yanny B.; Rix H.-W.; Dolphin A.E.; Martin N.F.; Beers T.C.
Publisher CDS
Publication Year 2012
Rights https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.html
OpenAccess true
Contact CDS support team <cds-question(at)unistra.fr>
Representation
Resource Type Dataset; AstroObjects
Discipline Astrophysics and Astronomy; Galactic and extragalactic Astronomy; Natural Sciences; Physics