Mass models of the Milky Way

@article{McMillan2011MassMO,
title={Mass models of the Milky Way},
author={Paul J. McMillan},
journal={Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
year={2011},
volume={414},
pages={2446-2457}
}
• P. McMillan
• Published 21 February 2011
• Physics
• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
We present a simple method for fitting parametrized mass models of the Milky Way to observational constraints. We take a Bayesian approach which allows us to take into account input from photometric and kinematic data, and expectations from theoretical modelling. This provides us with a best-fitting model, which is a suitable starting point for dynamical modelling. We also determine a probability density function on the properties of the model, which demonstrates that the mass distribution of…
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