Investigating the Relationship between the Interstellar Medium and the Galactic Central Bar and Spiral Arms with Gaia DR3 and 2MASS
This study reconstructs the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of the Galactic Interstellar
Medium (ISM) and investigates its structural relationship with the Galactic bar and spiral
arms. Utilizing data from the Gaia DR3 and 2MASS catalogs, stellar extinction and
reddening were estimated based on theoretical main-sequence models. We employed
Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), Bayesian inference, and Markov Chain Monte Carlo
(MCMC) methods to derive the ISM density distribution and its associated uncertainties.
Through a deconvolution process, a comprehensive 3D ISM density model of the Milky Way
was established.
Our results reveal a prominent gas bar in the Galactic Center with a semi-major axis of
approximately 5 kpc and an orientation angle of 27 relative to the Sun-Galactic Center line,
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showing a high degree of spatial correlation with the observed stellar bar. Furthermore, the
analysis reveals a discontinuous distribution of the ISM within the spiral arms. The identified
gaps at 2 kpc, 6 kpc, and 9 kpc align with the theoretical predictions of Lindblad Resonances.
This study provides, for the first time, observational validation of Lindblad Resonance
locations within the physical ISM distribution of our Galaxy.