Publication Date

2006

Journal or Book Title

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL

Abstract

We show that a Magellanic Cloud origin for the warp of the Milky Way can explain most quantitative features of the outer H I layer recently identified by Levine et al. We construct a model, similar to that presented by Weinberg in 1998, that produces distortions in the dark matter halo, and we calculate the combined effect of these dark halo distortions and the direct tidal forcing by the Magellanic Clouds on the disk warp in the linear regime. The interaction of the dark matter halo with the disk and resonances between the orbit of the Clouds and the disk account for the large amplitudes observed for the vertical m = 0, 1, and 2 harmonics. The observations lead to six constraints on warp-forcing mechanisms, and our model reasonably approximates all six. The disk is shown to be very dynamic, constantly changing its shape as the Clouds proceed along their orbit. We discuss the challenges to MOND posed by the observations.

Comments

This is a pre-published version which is collected from arXiv link. The published version is at http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-4357/641/1/L33?fromSearchPage=true

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/503607

Pages

L33-L36

Volume

641

Issue

1

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