Radial velocities in the outermost disk toward the anticenter

Abstract

We measure the mean Galactocentric radial component of the velocity of stars ($v_R$) in the disk at 8 kpc$ 17$ kpc. Negative velocities are also observed in 21 cm HI maps, possibly dominated by local gas emission. Among the possible dynamical causes for these non-zero $v_R$, factors such as the effect of the Galactic bar, streams, or mergers do not seem appropriate to explain our observations. An explanation might be the gravitational attraction of overdensities in a spiral arm. As a matter of fact, we see a change of regime from positive to negative velocities around $R\approx 15$ kpc, in the position where we cross the Outer spiral arm in the anticenter. The mass in spiral arms necessary to produce these velocities would be about 3\% of the mass of the disk, consistent with our knowledge of the spiral arms. Another scenario that we explore is a simple class of out-of-equilibrium systems in which radial motions are generally created by the monolithic collapse of isolated self-gravitating overdensities.