Mapping the Galactic disc with Gaia

Eloisa Poggio (Obsevatoire de la Côte d'Azur) - hybrid seminar (in-person in Salle NEF + remote via Zoom)

Abstract:
Galactic studies are currently undergoing a renaissance, thanks to the wealth of data from the Gaia satellite and ground-based surveys. Vertical disturbances, streaming motions, wave patterns and arches in velocity space have been mapped in the Milky Way's disc, triggering new interest and questions into the physical mechanisms regulating its dynamical evolution. Significant progress has also been made towards the mapping of stars in configuration space, allowing us to identify the segments of the nearest spiral arms in the Galaxy within 5 kpc in heliocentric distance. At the same time, chemical cartography has revealed spatially-dependent azimuthal variations at the level of ~0.1 dex on top of the radial metallicity gradient. In this talk, I will give an update on the latest results about the structure and chemo-dynamics of the Galactic disc, with particular focus on the warp and the spiral arms. I will also discuss future perspectives, and what we hope to learn in the coming years about the Milky Way and its place in the Universe.