Dr. Lu at Western Connecticut State University will determine the gravitational potential force of our Galaxy as a function of height from the galactic plane. The most important and unique aspect of this study is that it will produce data on a set of uniformly selected faint F type stars which are centered at both the North and South Galactic Poles. These data are required for an investigation of the velocity distribution of the stars, for evidence of a thick disk for the Galaxy, and for the dynamical study of missing mass of the Galaxy. Determination of the gravitational force law as a function of height from the Galactic plane is of fundamental importance to understanding the structure of our Galaxy. Much more observational work is needed to better define the force law and its consequences for the densities of the thin disk, the thick disk, and the halo populations of stars in the Galaxy. A number of efforts are underway, but the results are, as yet, inconclusive. Since an optimum observational method is not clear, it is important to address the problem through observations using several different types of stellar samples. Dr. Lu's research concentrates on a sample of F type stars while other astronomers are focussing on other types of stars.
