Context. The Milky Way bulge is the nearest galactic bulge and the most readily accessible laboratory for studies of stellar populations in spheroids based on individual stellar abundances and kinematics. These studies are challenged by the strongly variable and often large extinction on a small spatial scale.Aims. We use the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) ESO public survey data to measure extinction values in the complete area of the Galactic bulge covered by the survey at high resolution.Methods. We derive reddening values using the method described in Paper I. This is based on measuring the mean (J − K s) color of red clump giants in small subfields of 2′ × 2′ to 6′ × 6′ in the following bulge area: − 10.3° ≤ b ≤ + 5.1° and − 10.0° ≤ l ≤ + 10.4°. To determine the reddening values E(J − K s) for each region, we measure the RC color and compare it to the (J − K s) color of RC stars measured in Baade’s Window, for which we adopt E(B − V) = 0.55. This allows us to construct a reddening map sensitive to small-scale variations minimizing the problems arising from differential extinction.Results. The significant reddening variations are clearly observed on spatial scales as small as 2′. We find good agreement between our extinction measurements and Schlegel maps in the outer bulge, but, as already stated in the literature the Schlegel maps are unreliable for regions within |b| ≲ 6°. In the inner regions, we compare our results with maps derived from DENIS and Spitzer surveys. While we find good agreement with other studies in the corresponding overlapping regions, our extinction map is of higher quality owing to both its higher resolution and a more complete spatial coverage of the bulge. We investigate the importance of differential reddening and demonstrate the need for high spatial resolution extinction maps for detailed studies of bulge stellar populations and structure. Conclusions. We present the first extinction map covering uniformly ~315 sq. deg. of the Milky Way bulge at high spatial resolution. We consider a 30 arcmin window at a latitude of b = −4°, which corresponds to a frequently studied low extinction window, the so-called Baade’s Window, and find that its A K s values can vary by up to 0.1 mag. Larger extinction variations are observed at lower Galactic latitudes. The extinction variations on scales of up to 2′−6′ must be taken into account when analyzing the stellar populations of the Galactic bulge.

The rotation curve (RC) of the Milky Way out to ∼100 kpc has been constructed using ∼16 000 primary red clump giants (PRCGs) in the outer disc selected from the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anti-centre (LSS-GAC) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-III/APOGEE survey, combined with ∼5700 halo K giants (HKGs) selected from the SDSS/SEGUE survey. To derive the RC, the PRCG sample of the warm disc population and the HKG sample of halo stellar population are, respectively, analysed using a kinematical model allowing for the asymmetric drift corrections and re-analysed using the spherical Jeans equation along with measurements of the anisotropic parameter β currently available. The typical uncertainties of RC derived from the PRCG and HKG samples are, respectively, 5–7 km s⁻¹ and several tens km s⁻¹. We determine a circular velocity at the solar position, V_c(R₀) = 240 ± 6 km s⁻¹ and an azimuthal peculiar speed of the Sun, V_⊙ = 12.1 ± 7.6 km s⁻¹, both in good agreement with the previous determinations. The newly constructed RC has a generally flat value of 240 km s⁻¹ within a Galactocentric distance r of 25 kpc and then decreases steadily to 150 km s⁻¹ at r ∼ 100 kpc. On top of this overall trend, the RC exhibits two prominent localized dips, one at r ∼ 11 kpc and another at r ∼ 19 kpc. From the newly constructed RC, combined with other constraints, we have built a parametrized mass model for the Galaxy, yielding a virial mass of the Milky Way's dark matter halo of $$0.90^{+0.07}_{-0.08} \times 10^{12}$$ M_⊙ and a local dark matter density, $$\rho _{\rm {\odot }, dm} = 0.32^{+0.02}_{-0.02}$$ GeV cm⁻³.

We introduce the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) stellar parameter pipeline at Peking University – lsp3, developed and implemented for the determinations of radial velocity V_r and stellar atmospheric parameters (effective temperature T_eff, surface gravity log g, metallicity [Fe/H]) for the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anticentre (LSS-GAC). We describe the algorithms of lsp3 and examine the accuracy of parameters yielded by it. The precision and accuracy of parameters yielded are investigated by comparing results of multi-epoch observations and of candidate members of open and globular clusters, with photometric calibration, as well as with independent determinations available from a number of external data bases, including the PASTEL archive, the APOGEE, SDSS and RAVE surveys, as well as those released in the LAMOST DR1. The uncertainties of lsp3 parameters are characterized and quantified as a function of the spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and stellar atmospheric parameters. We conclude that the current implementation of lsp3 has achieved an accuracy of 5.0 km s⁻¹, 150 K, 0.25 dex, 0.15 dex for the radial velocity, effective temperature, surface gravity and metallicity, respectively, for LSS-GAC spectra of FGK stars of SNRs per pixel higher than 10. The lsp3 has been applied to over a million LSS-GAC spectra collected hitherto. Stellar parameters yielded by the lsp3 will be released to the general public following the data policy of LAMOST, together with estimates of the interstellar extinction E(B − V) and stellar distances, deduced by combining spectroscopic and multiband photometric measurements using a variety of techniques.

As a major component of the LAMOST Galactic surveys, the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anticentre (LSS-GAC) aims to survey a significant volume of the Galactic thin/thick discs and halo for a contiguous sky area of over 3400 deg² centred on the Galactic anticentre (|b| ≤ 30°, 150 ≤ l ≤ 210°), and obtain λλ3700–9000 low-resolution (R ∼ 1800) spectra for a statistically complete sample of ∼3 M stars of all colours down to a limiting magnitude of r ∼ 17.8 mag (to 18.5 mag for limited fields). Together with Gaia, the LSS-GAC will yield a unique data set to advance our understanding of the structure and assemblage history of the Galaxy, in particular its disc(s). In addition to the main survey, the LSS-GAC will also target hundreds of thousands objects in the vicinity fields of M 31 and M 33 and survey a significant fraction (over a million) of randomly selected very bright stars (r ≤ 14 mag) in the Northern hemisphere. During the Pilot and the first year Regular Surveys of LAMOST, a total of 1042 586 [750 867] spectra of a signal-to-noise ratio S/N(7450 Å) ≥ 10 [S/N(4650 Å) ≥ 10] have been collected. In this paper, we present a detailed description of the target selection algorithm, survey design, observations and the first data release of value-added catalogues (including radial velocities, effective temperatures, surface gravities, metallicities, values of interstellar extinction, distances, proper motions and orbital parameters) of the LSS-GAC.

Context. Three dimensional interstellar extinction maps provide a powerful tool for stellar population analysis. However, until now, these 3D maps were rather limited by sensitivity and spatial resolution.Aims. We use data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea survey together with the Besançon stellar population synthesis model of the Galaxy to determine interstellar extinction as a function of distance in the Galactic bulge covering −10°<l < 10° and −10°<b < 5°.Methods. We adopted a recently developed method to calculate the colour excess. First we constructed the H − Ks vs. Ks and J − Ks vs. Ks colour−magnitude diagrams based on the VVV catalogues that matched 2MASS. Then, based on the temperature−colour relation for M giants and the distance-colour relations, we derived the extinction as a function of distance. The observed colours were shifted to match the intrinsic colours in the Besançon model as a function of distance iteratively. This created an extinction map with three dimensions: two spatial and one distance dimension along each line of sight towards the bulge.Results. We present a 3D extinction map that covers the whole VVV area with a resolution of 6′× 6′ for J − Ks and H − Ks using distance bins of 0.5 kpc. The high resolution and depth of the photometry allows us to derive extinction maps for a range of distances up to 10 kpc and up to 30 mag of extinction in A V (3.0 mag in A Ks). Integrated maps show the same dust features and consistent values as other 2D maps. We discuss the spatial distribution of dust features in the line of sight, which suggests that there is much material in front of the Galactic bar, specifically between 5−7 kpc. We compare our dust extinction map with the high-resolution 12CO maps (NANTEN2) towards the Galactic bulge, where we find a good correlation between 12CO and A V. We determine the X factor by combining the CO map and our dust extinction map. Our derived average value X = 2.5 ± 0.47 × 1020 cm-2 K-1 km-1s is consistent with the canonical value of the Milky Way. The X-factor decreases with increasing extinction.