New Constraints on the Galactic Bar

Abstract

Previous work has related the Galactic bar to structure in the local stellar velocity distribution. Here we show that the bar also influences the spatial gradients of the velocity vector via the Oort constants. By numerical integration of test particles we simulate measurements of the Oort C-value in a gravitational potential including the Galactic bar. We account for the observed trend that C is increasingly negative for stars with higher velocity dispersion. By comparing measurements of C with our simulations we improve on previous models of the bar, estimating that the bar pattern speed is Ωb/Ω0=1.87+/-0.04, where Ω0 is the local circular frequency, and the bar angle lies within 20deg