Mapping the Milky Way with Masers
Abstract
SKA-VLBI is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the Galactic structure through its unprecedented astrometric precision and sensitivity. As a next-generation facility, it will answer long-standing questions about the Galactic structure by mapping its entire spiral structure in detail, spanning from the solar neighborhood, through the Galactic Center, to the far side of the Milky Way. Its access to the Southern sky will allow us to obtain more precise 3D parameters of the Galactic bar, reveal the nature of the 3-kpc Arm, and clarify the dynamical coupling between the bar and the spiral arms. By leveraging high-precision astrometry of numerous celestial objects with SKA-VLBI, the Galactic fundamental parameters such as the Solar motion and the Galactic rotation curve can be constrained more precisely. These advancements will not only elucidate the structure of our Milky Way, but also provide benchmarks for understanding barred spiral galaxies in general. Furthermore, they are important for advancing our knowledge of cosmological structure formation. The capabilities of SKA-VLBI will open a new era of high precision Galactic astrometry.
Authors 13
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Purple Mountain Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Purple Mountain Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023 , China
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Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna
Affiliation as printed
INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia & Italian ALMA Regional Centre , Italy
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Leiden University · Leiden Observatory · Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC
Affiliation as printed
Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE) , Netherlands , Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4 , 7991 PD Dwingeloo
Leiden Observatory , Leiden University , PO Box 9513 , 2300 RA Leiden , the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences , China Three Gorges University , Yichang 443002 , China
College of Science , China Three Gorges University , Yichang 443002 , China
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Purple Mountain Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Purple Mountain Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023 , China
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Purple Mountain Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Purple Mountain Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023 , China
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University of Tasmania · International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Affiliation as printed
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research , The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Hwy , Crawley , WA , Australia
School of Natural Sciences , University of Tasmania , Private Bag 37 , Hobart , Tasmania 7001 , Australia
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Spanish National Observatory · International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Affiliation as printed
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research , The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Hwy , Crawley , WA , Australia
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (IGN) , Alfonso XII , 3 y 5 , 28014 Madrid , Spain
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International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Affiliation as printed
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research , The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Hwy , Crawley , WA , Australia
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Purple Mountain Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Purple Mountain Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023 , China
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Purple Mountain Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Purple Mountain Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023 , China
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University of Science and Technology of China · Chinese Academy of Sciences · Purple Mountain Observatory
Affiliation as printed
Purple Mountain Observatory , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023 , China
School of Astronomy and Space Science , University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026 , China
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Chalmers University of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Department of Space, Earth and Environment , Chalmers University of Technology , Onsala Space Observatory , 43992 Onsala , Sweden
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