This workshop aims to explore Galaxy structure and evolution. The Gaia satellite mission is currently revealing an unprecedented and surprising wealth of kinematic substructures in the Milky Way disc. The UK has a leading role in this mission, as well as several other Galactic and extragalactic surveys. We want to bring these observations together with extragalactic observations, to compare with simulations and analytical models.
We will take an inventory of the substructure in observed discs (e.g. spiral patterns, galactic bars, star-forming filaments like the Gould belt) as well as simulated galaxies. With this comparison, and analytical expectations, we can connect the patterns to the evolution and history of these systems: How does the formation of bars and spiral arms depend on the state of the disk and surrounding dark matter halo? Can this be used to infer something about the surrounding dark matter? How does the substructure affect the subsequent evolution, by moving around stars in the disc, or pushing the dark halo out of the inner galaxy?
A major driver of this evolution are orbital resonances. Gaia shows intruiging patterns in the stellar motions, which are clearly linked to these resonances. However, how can we clearly identify, which pattern belongs to which resonance? How do they relate to strength, shape and pattern speed of the relevant patterns? Bars and spiral arms change, so how are the resonant patterns affected by the history/evolution of the resonance?
Further, the Gaia data have shown evidence for perturbations by merging satellites, and we will discuss their explanations, expectations from simulations, and links to similar observations in the Milky Way’s outer disc, and our neighbouring galaxies.
Schedule:
Session 1
09:00 Anne Buckner “Revealing the Secrets of Our Galaxy‚Äôs Building Blocks: Star clusters as seen by Gaia”
10:00 Alex Binks “Are young low-mass stars older and colder than we thought?”
10:15 Matteo Fratta “Halpha-excess point-like sources identification in the Gaia and IPHAS surveys”
Session 2
16:00 Payel Das “The heating history of the Milky Way”
16:15 Leandro Beraldo e Silva “Co-formation of the Milky Way's thin and thick discs”
16:35 Marcin Semczuk “Old stellar population as a tracer of the Milky Way's bar”
16:50 Jennifer Friske “Kinematic Analysis of a Slowing Bar”
17:05 Rimpei Chiba “Tree-ring structure of Galactic bar resonance”
17:20 Open discussion session
Ralph Schoenrich, Clare Dobbs, Victor Debattista
Friday morning and late afternoon
All attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to other attendees and staff, and to adhere to the NAM Code of Conduct.