A new model for the spiral structure of the Galaxy:: Superposition of 2-and 4-armed patterns

We investigate the possibility of describing the spiral pattern of the Milky Way in terms of a model of superposition of 2- and 4-armed wave harmonics (the simplest description, besides pure modes). Two complementary methods are used: a study of stellar kinematics and direct tracing of positions of spiral arms. In the first method, the parameters of the Galactic rotation curve and the free parameters of the spiral density waves were obtained from Cepheid kinematics, under different assumptions. To make visible the structure corresponding to these models, we computed the evolution of an ensemble of N particles, simulating the ISM clouds, in the perturbed Galactic gravitational field. In the second method, we present a new analysis of the longitude-velocity (l-v) diagram of the sample of Galactic H II regions, converting positions of spiral arms in the Galactic plane into loci of these arms in the l-v diagram. Both methods indicate that the "self-sustained" model, in which the 2-armed and 4-armed mode have different pitch angles (6 degrees and 12 degrees, respectively), is a good description of the disk structure. An important conclusion is that the Sun happens to be practically at the corotation circle. As an additional result of our study we propose an independent test for localization of the corotation circle in a spiral galaxy: a gap in the radial distribution of interstellar gas has to be observed in the corotation region.