No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 July 2015
Two new analysis of SDSS and 2MASS surveys are used to constrain the characteristics of the thin and thick disc of the Milky Way, based on a population synthesis model and a MCMC scheme to constrain model parameters. These studies show that 1) the thick disc has been formed during an extended period of time and it was contracting during this phase; 2) the external thin disc is shown to have characteristics which vary with age such as the scale length, warp orientation, warp and flare slopes. The thick disc undergoing a contraction with time while the thin disc forming inside-out clearly indicate that they are truly distinct components of the Galaxy.