Milky Way's Structure: Theory

Details Milky Way's Structure: Theory Milky Way's Structure: Theory

Dec 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005aas...20713301b&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society Meeting 207, #133.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p.1382

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The cover of the August issue of the Astronomical Journal is stunningly simple. The basic structure of the Milky Way appears as a central bar surrounded by four evenly-spaced logarithmic spirals. (Vallée 2005). Modern density wave theory can accommodate such spirals, but only by using arbitrary functions of time (Bertin 2000).
Perhaps the problem is Newton's gravitational law itself. With or without dark matter, this law allows the potential to have only two kinds of extrema: dimples and saddle points. In contrast, the proposed sinusoidal potential also permits potential maxima or pimples. (In the sinusoidal potential φ (r)=-(GM/r) cos(ko r) where ko = 2 π /λ o and the universal 'wavelength' λ o is 425 pc (Bartlett 2004).
I will show how the sinusoidal potential permits the spiral structure of the Galaxy to be stable. Deep ridges in the radial direction confine stars to circular orbits. A broad potential maximum in the z-direction suppresses the normally deep minimum at z=0 caused by matter in the local disk. Alternating minima and maxima in the φ -direction give spirals that are keyed to the central bar.

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