Towards understanding the dynamics of the bar/bulge region in our Galaxy
  I review some of the work on bars which is closely linked to the bar/bulge
system in our Galaxy. Several independent studies, using totally independent
methods, come to the same results about the 3D structure of a bar, i.e., that a
bar is composed of a vertically thick inner part and a vertically thin outer
part. I give examples of this from simulations and substantiate the discussion
with input from orbital structure analysis and from observations. The thick
part has a considerably shorter radial extent than the thin part. I then see
how this applies to our Galaxy, where two bars have been reported, the
COBE/DIRBE bar and the Long bar. Comparing their extents and making the
reasonable and necessary assumption that our Galaxy has properties similar to
those of other galaxies of similar type, leads to the conclusion that these two
bars can not form a standard double bar system. I then discuss arguments in
favour of the two bars being simply different parts of the same bar, the
COBE/DIRBE bar being the thick inner part and the Long bar being the thin outer
part of this bar. I also very briefly discuss some related new results. I first
consider bar formation and evolution in disc galaxies with a gaseous component
- including star formation, feedback and evolution - and a triaxial halo. Then
I consider bar formation in a fully cosmological context using hydrodynamical
LCDM simulations, where the host galaxies grow, accrete matter and
significantly evolve during the formation and evolution of the bar.
