Stellar Streams in the Solar Neighbourhood from High Resolution N-Body Simulations

Abstract

A high-resolution N-body simulation suggests that stellar streams in the discs of barred galaxies are common and strongly time-dependent. The velocity distribution of stars in the Solar neighbourhood betray many such streams, including a stream of outward moving stars with low angular momentum. This stream is interpreted as a signature of the Galactic bar, in the sense that its stars have just enough energy (Jacobi's integral) to cross the corotation resonance.

4 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of "Galaxy Dynamics: from the Early Universe to the Present", eds. F. Combes, G.A. Mamon and V. Charmandaris, ASP Conference Series