The effects of bar-spiral coupling on stellar kinematics in the Galaxy
  We investigate models of the Milky Way disc taking into account
simultaneously the bar and a two-armed quasi-static spiral pattern. Away from
major resonance overlaps, the mean stellar radial motions in the plane are
essentially a linear superposition of the isolated effects of the bar and
spirals. Thus, provided the bar is strong enough, even in the presence of
spiral arms, these mean radial motions are predominantly affected by the
Galactic bar for large scale velocity fluctuations. This is evident when
comparing the peculiar line-of-sight velocity power spectrum of our coupled
models with bar-only models. However, we show how forthcoming spectroscopic
surveys could disentangle bar-only non-axisymmetric models of the Galaxy from
models in which spiral arms have a significant amplitude. We also point out
that overlaps of low-order resonances are sufficient to enhance stellar
churning within the disc, even when the spirals amplitude is kept constant.
Nevertheless, for churning to be truly non-local, stronger or (more likely)
transient amplitudes would be needed: otherwise the disc is actually mostly
unaffected by churning in the present models. Finally, regarding vertical
breathing modes, the combined effect of the bar and spirals on vertical motions
is a clear non-linear superposition of the isolated effects of both components,
significantly superseding the linear superposition of modes produced by each
perturber separately, thereby providing an additional effect to consider when
analysing the observed breathing mode of the Galactic disc in the extended
Solar neighbourhood.
