Median Statistics Estimate of the Distance to the Galactic Center
Abstract
We show that error distributions of a compilation of 28 recent independent measurements of the distance from the Sun to the Galactic center, R 0, are wider than a standard Gaussian and best fit by an n = 4 Student’s t probability density function. Given this non-Gaussianity, the results of our median statistics analysis, summarized as {R}0=8.0+/- 0.3 {kpc} (2σ error), probably provides the most reliable estimate of R 0.
- Publication:
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Pub Date:
- February 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1088/1538-3873/aa9b26
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1708.01310
- Bibcode:
- 2018PASP..130b4101C
- Keywords:
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- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 12 pages. V2 has additional discussions on measurement independence and now includes an appendix to derive a more appropriate error distribution for weighted mean statistics analysis, but conclusion is unchanged. Accepted to PASP