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Signatures of heating processes in the Galactic thin disk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

Birgitta Nordström*
Affiliation:
The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark E-mail: birgitta@astro.ku.dk
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Abstract

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The term “heating” is used loosely to refer to a range of processes that result in an increase in velocity dispersion with age for subgroups of disk stars. We briefly summarise the observational basis for studies of disk heating and show that qualitative differences exist between the evolution of the in-plane and vertical motions. Ways to discriminate between various heating scenarios are discussed; the most recent galaxy merger simulations may in fact suggest that discrimination on purely kinematic grounds might be unfeasible, even with large samples of stars with excellent ages.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2009

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