Bibcode
Zasowski, G.; Nidever, D. L.; Robin, A.; Schultheis, M.; Hayden, M. R.; Schiavon, R. P.; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Shetrone, M. D.; Majewski, S. R.; Allende-Prieto, C.; Johnson, J.; Cunha, K. M.; Garcia Perez, A. E.
Bibliographical reference
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #223, #403.03
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1
2014
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0
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Description
The origin and formation of the Milky Way bulge remains poorly
understood, in part because high quality observations of the bulge have
generally been restricted to regions of low extinction. In the presence
of dust, infrared observations confer a distinct advantage over those at
optical wavelengths, and the advent of the Apache Point Observatory
Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) enables us to exploit widely this
advantage for the study of the kinematics and chemistry across the
entire bulge, including high extinction fields near the Galactic plane.
Present APOGEE coverage includes Northern Hemisphere-accessible bulge
fields spanning a 20 degree radius from the Galactic Center. The
analysis of the high quality (R ~ 22,500 and a typical S/N > 100)
stellar spectra from the first two years of APOGEE observations (and
including data from the instrument commissioning phase) is revealing an
interesting multi-dimensional view of the inner bulge and its metal
distribution. We will present these new results and discuss them in the
context of a bar scenario for bulge formation, as suggested by recently
published observations from other surveys.