The mass of our Milky Way
Wenting Wang, Jiaxin Han, Marius Cautun, Zhaozhou Li, Miho N. Ishigaki

TL;DR
This paper reviews diverse methods for estimating the Milky Way's total mass, discusses their assumptions and uncertainties, and highlights recent advances and future prospects with improved observational data.
Contribution
It provides a comprehensive classification and analysis of existing mass estimation techniques, integrating theoretical, observational, and simulation-based approaches.
Findings
Recent Gaia DR2 data improves measurement precision.
Systematic uncertainties dominate future mass estimates.
Multiple methods show consistent mass estimates within uncertainties.
Abstract
We perform an extensive review of the numerous studies and methods used to determine the total mass of the Milky Way. We group the various methods into seven broad classes, including: i) estimating Galactic escape velocity using high velocity objects; ii) measuring the rotation curve through terminal and circular velocities; iii) modeling halo stars, globular clusters and satellite galaxies with the Spherical Jeans equation and iv) with phase-space distribution functions; v) simulating and modeling the dynamics of stellar streams and their progenitors; vi) modeling the motion of the Milky Way, M31 and other distant satellites under the framework of Local Group timing argument; and vii) measurements made by linking the brightest Galactic satellites to their counterparts in simulations. For each class of methods, we introduce their theoretical and observational background, the method…
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