H  i terminal velocity curves − Lessons learned from N-body/hydrodynamic ‘surrogate’ models of the Milky Way

Abstract The development of an N-body/hydrodynamic ‘surrogate’ model of the Milky Way (MW) − a model that resembles the MW in several key aspects after many Gyrs of evolution − would be extremely beneficial for Galactic Archaeology. Here we present four new ‘surrogate’ models, all built with the Nexus framework. The simulations contain stars, dark matter and gas. Our most sophisticated model allows gas to evolve thermodynamically, and includes star formation, metal production, and stellar feedback. The other three models in this work have an isothermal gas disc. We examine these new simulations in the context of cold gas observations of the Galaxy. Our focus is the so-called ‘H i terminal velocity curve’ − a heliocentric measurement of the maximum Vlos as a function of Galactic longitude ℓ, which dates back to the early days of radio astronomy. It is a powerful approach to indirectly estimating the gas dynamics because it does not require knowledge about the distance to individual gas clouds, which is difficult to estimate. A comparison of the terminal velocities and recovered rotation curve values in the simulations against observations suggests that our models are in need of further refinement. The gravitational torques associated with our synthetic bars are too strong, driving excessive streaming motion in the inner gas disc. This causes the simulated terminal velocity curves in the Galactic Quadrant I and IV to deviate substantially from each other, unlike what is seen in observed H i terminal velocities of the MW. We suggest possible ways forward for future models.