Extinction Maps towards the Milky Way Bulge: 2D and 3D Tests with APOGEE
M. Schultheis, G. Zasowski, C. Allende Prieto, F. Anders, R.L. Beaton,, T.C. Beers, D. Bizyaev, C. Chiappini, P.M. Frinchaboy, A.E. Garcia-Perez, J., Ge, F. Hearty, J. Holtzman, S.R. Majewski, D. Muna, D. Nidever, M. Shetrone,, D.P. Schneider

TL;DR
This study evaluates the accuracy of various 2D and 3D interstellar extinction maps towards the Milky Way bulge by comparing them with independent spectroscopic extinction estimates derived from APOGEE data.
Contribution
It provides a comprehensive assessment of the reliability of existing extinction maps using high-resolution spectroscopic data and discusses the impact of stellar atmospheric models on extinction estimates.
Findings
Near+mid-IR stellar colors are the most accurate predictors of extinction.
Reliability of extinction maps varies with stellar populations and sightlines.
Stellar atmospheric models significantly influence extinction analysis.
Abstract
Galactic interstellar extinction maps are powerful and necessary tools for Milky Way structure and stellar population analyses, particularly toward the heavily-reddened bulge and in the midplane. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable extinction measures and distances for a large number of stars that are independent of these maps, tests of their accuracy and systematics have been limited. Our goal is to assess a variety of photometric stellar extinction estimates, including both 2D and 3D extinction maps, using independent extinction measures based on a large spectroscopic sample of stars towards the Milky Way bulge. We employ stellar atmospheric parameters derived from high-resolution -band APOGEE spectra, combined with theoretical stellar isochrones, to calculate line-of-sight extinction and distances for a sample of more than 2400 giants towards the Milky Way…
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