The Mass Distribution and Rotation Curve in the Galaxy

The mass distribution in the Galaxy is determined by dynamical and photometric methods. Rotation curves are the major tool for determining the dynamical mass distribution in the Milky Way and spiral galaxies. The photometric (statistical) method utilizes luminosity profiles from optical and infrared observations, and assumes empirical values of the mass-to-luminosity (M/L) ratio to convert the luminosity to mass. In this chapter the dynamical method is described in detail, and rotation curves and mass distribution in the Milky Way and nearby spiral galaxies are presented. The dynamical method is categorized into two methods: the decomposition method and direct method. The former fits the rotation curve by calculated curve assuming several mass components such as a bulge, disk and halo, and adjust the dynamical parameters of each component. Explanations are given of the mass profiles as the de Vaucouleurs law, exponential disk, and dark halo profiles inferred from numerical simulations. Another method is the direct method, with which the mass distribution can be directly calculated from the data of rotation velocities without employing any mass models. Some results from both methods are presented, and the Galactic structure is discussed in terms of the mass. Rotation curves and mass distributions in external galaxies are also discussed, and the fundamental mass structures are shown to be universal.Comment: 54 pages, 25 figures, in 'Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems', Springer, Vol. 5, ed. G. Gilmore, Chap. 19. Note: Preprint with full figures is available from http://www.ioa.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~sofue/htdocs/2013psss

Opaque spiral disks - Some empirical facts and consequences

Results for the Sb and Sc galaxies, as obtained from the analysis of the optical ESO-LV data, are reviewed, and the implied constraints for the properties of the absorbing components in spiral disks are discussed. An alternative interpretation of flat rotation curves and a revised extinction model of the Galaxy is presented. It is argued that the presently available data are best understood when in addition to a cirruslike dust component that causes extinction (i.e., absorption plus scattering) a second component is causing complete obscuration (occultation). This second component could be identified with compact opaque clouds that have a temperature well below the typical IRAS temperature of about 60 K and a spatial distribution described by an exponential with a scale length larger than that of the stars