1996/12/05 by James Binney, Walter Dehnen · 46 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics #Galaxy #Galaxy formation and evolution #Galaxy rotation curve #Geometry #Light curve #Milky Way #Physics #RADIUS #Rotation (mathematics) #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnras/287.1.l5
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 287(1), L5-L7 (Oxford University Press) · 3 pages, LaTeX, uses mn.sty, 5 .ps figures, submitted to MNRAS
arxiv created 1996/12/05 · openalex publication_date 1997/05/01 · arxiv updated 2016/06/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A straightforward determination of the circular-speed curve vc(R) of the Milky Way suggests that near the Sun, vc starts to rise approximately linearly with R. If this result were correct, the Galactic mass density would have to be independent of radius at R ~> R0. We show that the apparent linear rise in vc arises naturally if the true circular-speed curve is about constant or gently falling at R0 < R ~< 2 R0, but most tracers that appear to be at R ~> 1.25 R0 are actually concentrated into a ring of radius ~1.6 R0.