| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Lepine, Jacques R. D.
;
Michtchenko, Tatiana A.
;
Barros, Douglas A.
;
Vieira, Ronaldo S. S.
Total Authors: 4
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL; v. 843, n. 1 JUL 1 2017. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 7 |
| Abstract | |
The Local Arm of the Milky Way, a short spiral feature near the Sun whose existence has been known for decades, was recently observed in detail with different tracers. Many efforts have been dedicated to elaborate plausible hypotheses concerning the origin of the main spiral arms of the Galaxy; however, up to now, no specific mechanism for the origin of the Local Arm has been proposed. Here we explain, for the first time, the Local Arm as an outcome of the spiral corotation resonance, which traps arm tracers and the Sun inside it. We show that the majority of maser sources belonging to the Local Arm, together with the Sun, evolve inside the corotation resonance, never crossing the main spiral arms but instead oscillating in the region between them. This peculiar behavior of the Sun could have numerous consequences for our understanding of the local kinematics of stars, the Galactic Habitable Zone, and the solar system evolution. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 15/10577-9 - Chaos and integrability in galactic disks |
| Grantee: | Ronaldo Savioli Sumé Vieira |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |
| FAPESP's process: | 09/54006-4 - A computer cluster for the Astronomy Department of the University of São Paulo Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences and for the Cruzeiro do Sul University Astrophysics Center |
| Grantee: | Elisabete Maria de Gouveia Dal Pino |
| Support Opportunities: | Multi-user Equipment Program |
| FAPESP's process: | 16/18886-3 - The origin of moving groups and the dynamical stability of the sun in the galaxy |
| Grantee: | Douglas Augusto de Barros |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |