Bibcode
Martinez-Valpuesta, I.
Bibliographical reference
Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VII, Proceedings of the X Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (SEA), held in Valencia, July 9 - 13, 2012, Eds.: J.C. Guirado, L.M. Lara, V. Quilis, and J. Gorgas., pp.484-491
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5
2013
Citations
2
Refereed citations
2
Description
Bars are strong drivers of secular evolution in disk galaxies. Bars
themselves can evolve secularly through angular momentum transport,
producing different boxy/peanut and X-shaped bulges. Our Milky Way is an
example of a barred galaxy with a boxy bulge. We present a
self-consistent N-body simulation of a barred galaxy which matches
remarkably well the structure of the inner Milky Way deduced from star
counts. In particular, features taken as signatures of a second ``long
bar" can be explained by the interaction between the bar and the spiral
arms of the galaxy. Furthermore the structural change in the bulge
inside l=4° measured recently from VVV data can be explained by the
high-density near-axisymmetric part of the inner boxy bulge. We also
compare this model with kinematic data from recent spectroscopic surveys
and estimate the pattern speed of the bar of the Milky Way.