On the kinematic signature of a central Galactic bar in observed star samples

Abstract

A quasi self-consistent model for a barred structure in the central regions of our Galaxy is used to calculate the signature of such a triaxial structure on the kinematical properties of star samples. We argue that, due to the presence of a velocity dispersion, such effects are much harder to detect in the stellar component than in the gas. It might be almost impossible to detect stellar kinematical evidence for a bar using only l-v diagrams, if there is no a priori knowledge of the potential. Therefore, we propose some test parameters that can easily be applied to observed star samples, and that also incorporate distances or proper motions. We discus the diagnostic power of these tests as a function of the sample size and the bar strength. We conclude that about 1000 stars would be necessary to diagnose triaxiality with some statistical confidence.