Catherine Zucker edited sectionDiscussion_Th.tex  about 9 years ago

Commit id: ea9995260df6d1b6f2da097a231856c8a462e78b

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While the \citet{Smith_2014} galaxy models are the first that provide high enough resolution to simulate our incredibly long and thin bones, they do not include stellar feedback nor magnetic fields---either of which could cause disruptions in the appearance of the simulated bone-like features. In the future, we hope to utilize more comprehensive, targeted high-resolution synthetic observations (e.g. of dust absorption and emission and of CO spectra), based on high-resolution simulations like the ones in \citet{Smith_2014}. Finally, we hope to use simulations to estimate the biases inherent in our selection criteria (how many spurious "Bones" should we expect to find randomly, by the chance alignment of discontinuous IRDC peaks?).   Though challenging, we plan to combine future high resolution synthetic observations with a wealth of existing data sets to build a \textit{skeletal model of the Milky Way}. When used in conjunction with BeSSeL maser-based rotation curves \citep{Reid_2014}, CO \citep{Dame_2001} and HI \citep{Shane_1972} p-v fitting, 3D extinction mapping \citep{Schlafly_2014}, \citep{Schlafly_2014b},  HII region arm mapping \citep{Anderson_2012}, and GAIA results, bones have the potential to not only redefine Galactic structure at unprecedented resolution, but also to resolve fundamental questions that have been plaguing Galactic astronomers for decades.