Testing kinematic distances under a realistic Galactic potential

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Hunter, Glen H., Sormani, Mattia C., Beckmann, Jan P., Vasiliev, Eugene, Glover, Simon C. O., Klessen, Ralf S., Soler, Juan D., Brucy, Noé, Girichidis, Philipp, Göller, Junia, Ohlin, Loke, Tress, Robin, Molinari, Sergio, Gerhard, Ortwin, Benedettini, Milena, Smith, Rowan, Hennebelle, Patrick, Testi, Leonardo
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Hunter, Glen H.
Sormani, Mattia C.
Beckmann, Jan P.
Vasiliev, Eugene
Glover, Simon C. O.
Klessen, Ralf S.
Soler, Juan D.
Brucy, Noé
Girichidis, Philipp
Göller, Junia
Ohlin, Loke
Tress, Robin
Molinari, Sergio
Gerhard, Ortwin
Benedettini, Milena
Smith, Rowan
Hennebelle, Patrick
Testi, Leonardo
author_facet Hunter, Glen H.
Sormani, Mattia C.
Beckmann, Jan P.
Vasiliev, Eugene
Glover, Simon C. O.
Klessen, Ralf S.
Soler, Juan D.
Brucy, Noé
Girichidis, Philipp
Göller, Junia
Ohlin, Loke
Tress, Robin
Molinari, Sergio
Gerhard, Ortwin
Benedettini, Milena
Smith, Rowan
Hennebelle, Patrick
Testi, Leonardo
contents Obtaining reliable distance estimates to gas clouds within the Milky Way is challenging in the absence of certain tracers. The kinematic distance approach has been used as an alternative, derived from the assumption of circular trajectories around the Galactic centre. Consequently, significant errors are expected in regions where gas flow deviates from purely circular motions. We aim to quantify the systematic errors that arise from the kinematic distance method in the presence of a Galactic potential that is non-axisymmetric. We investigate how these errors differ in certain regions of the Galaxy and how they relate to the underlying dynamics. We perform 2D hydrodynamical simulation of the gas disk with the moving-mesh code Arepo, adding the capability of using an external potential provided by the Agama library for galactic dynamics. We introduce a new analytic potential of the Milky Way, taking elements from existing models and adjusting parameters to match recent observational constraints. In line with results of previous studies, we report significant errors in the kinematic distance estimate for gas close to the Sun, along sight lines towards the Galactic centre and anti-centre, and associated with the Galactic bar. Kinematic distance errors are low within the spiral arms as gas resides close to local potential minima and the resulting LOS velocity is similar to what is expected for an axisymmetric potential. Interarm regions exhibit large deviations at any given Galactic radius. This is caused by the gas being sped up or slowed down as it travels into or out of spiral arms. In addition, we identify 'zones of avoidance' in the lv-diagram, where the kinematic distance method is particularly unreliable and should only be used with caution, and we find a power law relation between the kinematic distance error and the deviation of the projected LOS velocity from circular motion.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_18000
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Testing kinematic distances under a realistic Galactic potential
Hunter, Glen H.
Sormani, Mattia C.
Beckmann, Jan P.
Vasiliev, Eugene
Glover, Simon C. O.
Klessen, Ralf S.
Soler, Juan D.
Brucy, Noé
Girichidis, Philipp
Göller, Junia
Ohlin, Loke
Tress, Robin
Molinari, Sergio
Gerhard, Ortwin
Benedettini, Milena
Smith, Rowan
Hennebelle, Patrick
Testi, Leonardo
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Obtaining reliable distance estimates to gas clouds within the Milky Way is challenging in the absence of certain tracers. The kinematic distance approach has been used as an alternative, derived from the assumption of circular trajectories around the Galactic centre. Consequently, significant errors are expected in regions where gas flow deviates from purely circular motions. We aim to quantify the systematic errors that arise from the kinematic distance method in the presence of a Galactic potential that is non-axisymmetric. We investigate how these errors differ in certain regions of the Galaxy and how they relate to the underlying dynamics. We perform 2D hydrodynamical simulation of the gas disk with the moving-mesh code Arepo, adding the capability of using an external potential provided by the Agama library for galactic dynamics. We introduce a new analytic potential of the Milky Way, taking elements from existing models and adjusting parameters to match recent observational constraints. In line with results of previous studies, we report significant errors in the kinematic distance estimate for gas close to the Sun, along sight lines towards the Galactic centre and anti-centre, and associated with the Galactic bar. Kinematic distance errors are low within the spiral arms as gas resides close to local potential minima and the resulting LOS velocity is similar to what is expected for an axisymmetric potential. Interarm regions exhibit large deviations at any given Galactic radius. This is caused by the gas being sped up or slowed down as it travels into or out of spiral arms. In addition, we identify 'zones of avoidance' in the lv-diagram, where the kinematic distance method is particularly unreliable and should only be used with caution, and we find a power law relation between the kinematic distance error and the deviation of the projected LOS velocity from circular motion.
title Testing kinematic distances under a realistic Galactic potential
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.18000