Spiral structure in the outer Galactic disk. I. The Third Galactic Quadrant

TL;DR

This study combines optical and radio data to map the spiral structure of the Milky Way's Third Quadrant, revealing the behavior of spiral arms, the influence of the Local arm, and the Galactic warp.

Contribution

It provides the largest optical and radio datasets to analyze the detailed spiral structure and interstellar extinction in the Third Galactic Quadrant.

Findings

Outer (Cygnus) arm traced by stars and CO

Perseus arm traced only by CO and possibly disrupted

Local arm extends over 8 kpc and reaches the Outer arm

Abstract

We combine optical and radio observations to trace the spiral structure in the Third Quadrant of the Milky Way. The optical observations consist of a large sample of young open clusters and associations, whereas the radio observations consist of a survey of nearby and distant clouds observed in CO. Both the optical and radio samples are the largest ones insofar present in the literature. We use this unique material to analyze the behavior of interstellar extinction and to trace the detailed structure of the Third Galactic Quadrant (TGQ).We find that the Outer (Cygnus) grand design spiral arm is traced by stellar and CO components while the Perseus arm is traced solely by CO and is possibly being disrupted by the crossing of the Local (Orion) arm. The Local arm is traced by CO and young stars toward l = 240 degrees and extends for over 8 kpc along the line of sight reaching the Outer arm. Finally, we characterize the Galactic warp and compare the geometries implied by the young stellar and CO components.