2010MNRAS.403.1829S

We re-examine the stellar kinematics of the solar neighbourhood in terms of the velocity υ_☉ of the Sun with respect to the local standard of rest. We show that the classical determination of its component V_☉ in the direction of Galactic rotation via Strömberg's relation is undermined by the metallicity gradient in the disc, which introduces a correlation between the colour of a group of stars and the radial gradients of its properties. Comparing the local stellar kinematics to a chemodynamical model which accounts for these effects, we obtain (U, V, W)_☉= (11.1^+0.69_–0.75, 12.24^+0.47_–0.47, 7.25^+0.37_–0.36)km/s, with additional systematic uncertainties ∼(1, 2, 0.5)km/s. In particular, V_☉ is 7km/s larger than previously estimated. The new values of (U, V, W)_☉ are extremely insensitive to the metallicity gradient within the disc.