Signatures of Young Star Formation Activity within Two Parsecs of Sgr A*

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dc.contributor.authorYusef-Zadeh, F.
dc.contributor.authorWardle, M.
dc.contributor.authorSewilo, M.
dc.contributor.authorRoberts, D. A.
dc.contributor.authorSmith, I.
dc.contributor.authorArendt, Richard
dc.contributor.authorCotton, W.
dc.contributor.authorLacy, J.
dc.contributor.authorMartin, S.
dc.contributor.authorPound, M. W.
dc.contributor.authorRickert, M.
dc.contributor.authorRoyster, M.
dc.date.accessioned2022-06-08T19:48:12Z
dc.date.available2022-06-08T19:48:12Z
dc.date.issued2015-07-23
dc.description.abstractWe present radio and infrared observations indicating ongoing star formation activity inside the ∼2–5 pc circumnuclear ring at the Galactic center. Collectively these measurements suggest a continued disk-based mode of ongoing star formation has taken place near Sgr A* over the last few million years. First, Very Large Array observations with spatial resolution 2farcs17 × 0farcs81 reveal 13 water masers, several of which have multiple velocity components. The presence of interstellar water masers suggests gas densities that are sufficient for self-gravity to overcome the tidal shear of the $4\times {10}^{6}$ ${M}_{\odot }$ black hole. Second, spectral energy distribution modeling of stellar sources indicates massive young stellar object (YSO) candidates interior to the molecular ring, supporting in situ star formation near Sgr A* and appear to show a distribution similar to that of the counter-rotating disks of ∼100 OB stars orbiting Sgr A*. Some YSO candidates (e.g., IRS 5) have bow shock structures, suggesting that they have gaseous disks that are phototoevaporated and photoionized by the strong radiation field. Third, we detect clumps of SiO (2-1) and (5-4) line emission in the ring based on Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy and Sub-Millimeter Array observations. The FWHM and luminosity of the SiO emission is consistent with shocked protostellar outflows. Fourth, two linear ionized features with an extent of ∼0.8 pc show blue and redshifted velocities between +50 and −40 km s−1, suggesting protostellar jet driven outflows with mass-loss rates of $\sim 5\times {10}^{-5}$ ${M}_{\odot }$ yr−1. Finally, we present the imprint of radio dark clouds at 44 GHz, representing a reservoir of molecular gas that feeds star formation activity close to Sgr A*.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe are grateful to S. Gillessen and the MPE group for providing us with a 3.8 μm image of the Galactic center. This work is partially supported by the grant AST-0807400 from the NSF. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under a cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. We thank the referee for useful comments. This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA\#2011.0.00005.SV Project code. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada) and NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/808/1/97en_US
dc.format.extent18 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2wggs-drrz
dc.identifier.citationYusef-Zadeh, F., “Signatures of Young Star Formation Activity within Two Parsecs of Sgr A*”, The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 808, no. 1, 2015. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/808/1/97en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/808/1/97
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/24862
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherIOP Scienceen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.en_US
dc.titleSignatures of Young Star Formation Activity within Two Parsecs of Sgr A*en_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8403-8548en_US

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