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- The High-density Ionized Gas in the Central Parsec of the Galaxy
Abstract
We report a study of the H30alpha line emission at 1.3 mm from the region around
Sgr A* made with the Submillimeter Array at a resolution of 2" over a
field of 60" (2 pc) and a velocity range of -360 to +345 km/s. This field
encompasses most of the Galactic center's "minispiral." With an isothermal
homogeneous H II model, we determined the physical conditions of the ionized
gas at specific locations in the Northern and Eastern Arms from the H30alpha
line data along with Very Large Array data from the H92alpha line at 3.6 cm
and from the radio continuum emission at 1.3 cm. The typical electron density
and kinetic temperature in the minispiral arms are 3-21x104 cm-3 and
5000-13,000 K, respectively. The H30alpha and H92alpha line profiles
are broadened due to the large velocity shear within and along the
beam produced by dynamical motions in the strong gravitational field
near Sgr A*. We constructed a three-dimensional model of the minispiral
using the orbital parameters derived under the assumptions that the gas
flows are in Keplerian motion. The gas in the Eastern Arm appears to
collide with the Northern Arm flow in the "Bar" region, which is located
0.1-0.2 pc south of and behind Sgr A*. Finally, a total Lyman continuum
flux of 3 x 1050 photons s-1 is inferred from the assumption that
the gas is photoionized and the ionizing photons for the high-density
gas in the minispiral arms are from external sources, which is equivalent
to ~250 O9-type zero-age-main-sequence stars.
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Zhao, Jun-Hui; Blundell, Ray; Moran, James M.; Downes, Dennis; Schuster, Karl F.; Marrone, Daniel P., 2010, ApJ, 723, 1097
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- Dynamics of Ionized Gas at the Galactic Center: Very Large Array
Observations of the Three-dimensional Velocity Field and Location of the Ionized Streams in Sagittarius A West
Abstract
We present new results based on high-resolution observations of Sgr A
West at the Galactic center with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.3 cm.
By combining recent observations with those made at earlier epochs with
the VLA at wavelengths of 1.3 and 3.6 cm, we measured proper motions for
71 compact H II components in the central 80" (3 pc, assuming D =
8 kpc). Using VLA archival data for the H92alpha radio recombination
line, we also investigated radial velocities in the LSR velocity range
from +200 to -415 km s-1. Combining proper motion
and radial velocity measurements, we have determined the
three-dimensional velocity distribution in Sgr A West. We find that the
three ionized streams (Northern Arm, Eastern Arm, and Western Arc) in
the central 3 pc can be modeled with three bundles of Keplerian orbits
around Sgr A*. Assuming that each of the observed streams of ionized gas
follows a single orbit, we determined the five orbital parameters (a, e,
Omega, omega, i) for each of them using least-square fitting to the
loci of the streams. The degeneracy in the orbital solutions for both
the direction of flow and the two mirror images can be further resolved
using the information obtained from the velocity measurements. Our
results confirm earlier results on the streams in the Western Arc and
the Northern Arm to be in Keplerian orbits, suggesting that the stream
in the Eastern Arm is also consistent with an elliptical orbit. All
three are confined within the central 3 pc. Both the Northern and
Eastern Arm streams have high eccentricities (e = 0.83 +/- 0.10 and
0.82 +/- 0.05, respectively), while the Western Arc stream is
nearly circular, with e = 0.2 +/- 0.15. All three streams orbit
around Sgr A* in a counterclockwise sense (viewed from the Earth) and
have orbital periods in the range 4-8 x 104 yr. To
verify the fit, the distributions of radial and transverse velocity
vectors in Sgr A West were also computed using the Keplerian model and
they show good agreement with both the proper motion and radial velocity
data. In addition, the computed orbits suggest that the Northern and
Eastern Arm streams may collide in the "Bar" region (a few arcsec south
of Sgr A*) and that most of the orbiting ionized gas in the "Bar" region
is located behind Sgr A*. We also report an ionized nebula associated
with IRS 8, including a bow shock in radio continuum emission which
shows excellent agreement with near infrared observations. From the
H92alpha line data, we find evidence of substantial interaction
between the IRS 8 nebula and the Northern Arm stream occurring in the
bow-shock region. Other new morphological features revealed in our
high-resolution image include (1) a helical structure in the Northern
Arm, suggesting that MHD plays an important role in the motion of the
ionized gas, in addition to the dynamics determined by the central
gravitational field, and (2) a linear feature in the IRS 16 region,
suggesting that the compressed edge of the Northern Arm may result from
the collective winds and radiation pressure from the high mass stars in
the IRS16 cluster.
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VLA OH Observations of High Negative Velocity Gas toward Sagittarius A West:
A High-Velocity Cloud Interacting with the Galactic Center
Abstract
The high negative velocity cloud in the direction of Sgr A*
at -180 km s-1 was discussed by Gusten & Downes
(1981) more than a decade ago. Since then, numerous observations have
been carried out to determine the properties of this component;
however, the nature of this feature was uncertain due to the lack of
high angular resolution observations. Recently, we have carried out
VLA observations of this feature in the H I and OH lines at
VLSR = -180 km s-1 with an angular resolution of several
arcseconds. The OH 1667 MHz absorption is the best tracer of the gas
in front of the continuum sources in the Galactic center. Both the
structure and the kinematics have been determined, and we show that
the high negative velocity absorbing gas is well mixed with the
ionized gas in the center of the Galaxy. The mass of neutral gas seen
in absorption at -180 km s-1 is about 5 x 103 Msun,
only a small fraction of the entire cloud observed in CO emission.
The observed kinematics are not consistent with ejection; outflow,
or a possible association with the expanding molecular ring at
V = -135 km s-1. The location and morphology suggest that
this high-velocity cloud may be tidally disrupted. Based on a numerical
model, we demonstrate that the disrupted high-velocity gas can flow
toward the Galactic center and interact with the central gravitational
potential, thereby distorting the kinematics of the high-velocity gas
projected in front of Sgr A West. This model also suggests that the
mini-cavity 3" southeast of Sgr A* could have resulted
from the impact of a high negative velocity streamer. Both the morphology
and the kinematics calculated in this model are consistent with the H92alpha
observations of the central 10" of the Galaxy as published by Roberts,
Yusef-Zadeh, & Goss (1995).
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