Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Disk Heating, Galactoseismology, And The Formation Of Stellar Halos, Kathryn V. Johnston, Adrian M. Price-Whelan, Maria Bergemann, Chervin F. P. Laporte, Ting S. Li, Allyson A. Sheffield, Steven R. Majewski, Rachael S. Beaton, Branimir Sesar, Sanjib Sharma

Publications and Research

Deep photometric surveys of the MilkyWay have revealed diffuse structures encircling our Galaxy far beyond the “classical” limits of the stellar disk. This paper reviews results from our own and other observational programs, which together suggest that, despite their extreme positions, the stars in these structures were formed in our Galactic disk. Mounting evidence from recent observations and simulations implies kinematic connections between several of these distinct structures. This suggests the existence of collective disk oscillations that can plausibly be traced all the way to asymmetries seen in the stellar velocity distribution around the Sun. There are multiple interesting implications …