24) Stellar kinematics of Milky Way-type galaxies in the MUSE TIMER survey

Abstract: The Milky Way is a massive barred galaxy with no dominant classical bulge, and many galaxies sharing the same properties are found within the local 40Mpc volume. Our team has collected high S/N MUSE spectra of 21 such galaxies, allowing studies of the stellar kinematics and population properties with unprecedented physical spatial resolution. This allows us to study the complexity and variety of stellar components in the central ~6 x 6 kpc, such as bars and box/peanuts, nuclear discs and rings, inner bars and small classical bulges. I will review our results on the stellar kinematics and population properties of these components, and discuss how observations of the bar, box/peanut and Central Molecular Zone of the Milky Way can be understood in the light of our findings. I will also present results corroborating the picture in which nuclear discs and other stellar components in the central kpc are built via bar-driven secular processes and have (near-)exponential surface density profiles. Finally, I will discuss how the formation epoch of bars in external galaxies and in the Milky Way can be estimated, and show that some bars have formed 10Gyr ago and are robust structures, having survived until z = 0.

Bio: Dimitri Gadotti is an ESO faculty astronomer and PI of the TIMER survey with MUSE. His main interests are the formation and evolution of bars and bulges in disc galaxies, but he is interested in all aspects of galaxy formation and evolution.