On the similarity of the statistics of high-velocity clouds and stars of the spherical component of the galaxy

Abstract

An account is given of a comparison, for the first time, of high-velocity H I clouds (HVCs) with objects of the spherical subsystem of the Galaxy. The dependence of the radial velocities of the HVCs on galactic longitude is similar to Stromberg's asymmetry. The galactic rotational velocity and the velocity dispersion of the HVCs are the same as for the objects of the spherical subsystem (subdwarfs, RR Lyrae variables, globular clusters). Like the subdwarfs near them, the HVCs do not exhibit a concentration near the center of the Galaxy. There are elongated groups of stars, including Kapteyn's group, that are projected onto (or are in the neighborhood of) C II, the Magellanic Stream, and other complexes with the same radial velocities as these HVCs. The distances of the majority of the stars of these groups are on the order of 100 pc. 20 references.