Other
Scientific paper
May 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dda....41.0202b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DDA meeting #41, #2.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.925
Other
Scientific paper
One usually does not draw a contour plot for the gravitational potential of the Milky Way. It is too boring - just a central minimum surrounded by a system of squashed oblate spheroids. Maybe the spheroids are somewhat triaxial. The situation is entirely different with the non-Newtonian sinusoidal potential. Here the potential near a point mass is φ(R)=-(GM/R)cos(kR) where k=2Π/λ, and the putative universal wavelength λ is 400 pc.
Now the contour plot for the potential of the Milky Way has an infinite number of minima and maxima. The maxima distinguish the sinusoidal potential from both the Newtonian potential and from its alternative, MOdified Newtonian Dynamics. Near the solar circle, these maxima take the form of concentric spherical shells. Stars and gas travel at approximately 225 km/sec largely in the azimuthal direction in the "local groove". The sun executes short radial motions within this groove, taking only about 10 Myr for a full epicyclic period.
Associated with the short epicyclic period are strong radial Galactic tides. Such tides may be responsible for a startling observation. Matese & Whitmire (1996) observed that the perihelia of comets from the Oort Cloud are strongly modulated in Galactic longitude. This modulation persists in the comets observed since 1996. (Please see related poster at this meeting). Other evidence for the local groove will be discussed here.
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