THE VVV SURVEY REVEALS CLASSICAL CEPHEIDS TRACING A YOUNG and THIN STELLAR DISK ACROSS the GALAXY'S BULGE

I. Dékány, D. Minniti, D. Majaess, M. Zoccali, G. Hajdu, J. Alonso-García, M. Catelan, W. Gieren, J. Borissova

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Solid insight into the physics of the inner Milky Way is key to understanding our Galaxy's evolution, but extreme dust obscuration has historically hindered efforts to map the area along the Galactic mid-plane. New comprehensive near-infrared time-series photometry from the VVV Survey has revealed 35 classical Cepheids, tracing a previously unobserved component of the inner Galaxy, namely a ubiquitous inner thin disk of young stars along the Galactic mid-plane, traversing across the bulge. The discovered period (age) spread of these classical Cepheids implies a continuous supply of newly formed stars in the central region of the Galaxy over the last 100 million years.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberL29
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume812
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Oct 2015

Keywords

  • Galaxy: bulge
  • Galaxy: disk
  • Galaxy: general
  • Galaxy: stellar content
  • stars: variables: Cepheids Supporting material: data behind figure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'THE VVV SURVEY REVEALS CLASSICAL CEPHEIDS TRACING A YOUNG and THIN STELLAR DISK ACROSS the GALAXY'S BULGE'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this