Milky Way Gas Dynamics

Abstract

The Milky Way is made up of a central bar, a disk with embedded spiral arms, and a dark matter halo. Observational and theoretical constraints for the characteristic parameters of these components will be presented, with emphasis on the constraints from the dynamics of the Milky Way gas. In particular, the fraction of dark matter inside the solar radius, the location of the main resonances, and the evidence for multiple pattern speeds will be discussed.

19 pages, 6 figures, invited review talk, AAS-DDA 36th annual meeting, April 2005, Santa Barbara, to appear in: Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy