Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T00:23:23.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gas and Dust in the Inner Few Degrees of the Galaxy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2016

Rolf Güsten
Rolf Güsten*
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D–5300 Bonn 1, Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This review discusses the complex morphology and perturbed kinematics, as well as the outstanding physical characteristics of the interstellar medium within a few 100 pc of the galactic center. A total of ~107.9 Mo of dense molecular gas, representing ~10% of the Galaxy's neutral mass content, has settled in a thin layer [size: 450 × 40 pc], composed of giant molecular cloud complexes. The spatial distribution is highly asymmetric with respect to the center, and motions differ considerably from equilibrium conditions. The dynamical situation is still obscure (explosive event vs. response to distorted gravitational potential), but any disturbance must have occurred quite recently (τdy ~106 yr). Evidence for large–scale star–forming activity is reviewed, and for a standard IMF, a total star formation rate Φ ~0.5 M0 yr−1 is inferred.

The galactic center clouds differ considerably in their physical and chemical characteristics from GMC's in the outer Galaxy. Pervasive high bulk gas temperatures (Tkin ~70 K), mean H2 densities of n ~104 cm−3, and linewidths ≥10–20 kms−1 are probably a consequence of the clouds' location in the steep gravitational potential of the central bulge.

Type
The Large - Scale Interstellar Medium
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 136: The Galactic Center , 1989 , pp. 89 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1989 

References

Altenhoff, W., Downes, D., Pauls, T., Schraml, J.: 1978, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 35, 23 Google Scholar
Armstrong, J.T., Barrett, A.H.: 1985, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 57, 535 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrongs, T., Ho, P.T.P., Barrett, A.H.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 288, 159 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arons, J., Max, C.E.: 1975, Astrophys. J. 196, L77 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bally, J., Stark, A.A., Wilson, R.W., Henkel, C.: 1987, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 65, 13 Google Scholar
Bally, J., Stark, A.A., Wilson, R.W., Henkel, C.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 324, 223 Google Scholar
Bania, T.M.: 1977, Astrophys. J. 216, 381 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bania, T.M.: 1980, Astrophys. J. 242, 95 Google Scholar
Bania, T.M.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 308, 868 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bath, C., Issa, M., Houston, B., Mayer, C., Wolfendale, A.: 1985, Nature 314, 511 Google Scholar
Bieging, J., Downes, D., Wilson, T., Martin, A., Güsten, R.: 1980, Astr. Astroph. Suppl. 42, 163 Google Scholar
Blitz, L., Bloemen, J., Hermsen, W., Bania, T.M.: 1985, Astron. Astrophys. 147, 267 Google Scholar
Bloemen, J.B.G.M., Strong, A.W., Blitz, L., Cohen, R.S., Dame, T.M., Grabelsky, D.A., Hermsen, W., Lebrun, F., Mayer–Hasselwander, H.A., Thaddeus, P.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 154, 25 Google Scholar
Bolton, J.G., Gardner, F.F., McGee, R.X., Robinson, B.J.: 1964, Nature 204, 30 Google Scholar
Braunsfurth, E., Rohlfs, K.: 1981, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 44, 437 Google Scholar
Brown, R.L., Liszt, H.L.: 1984, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 22, 223 Google Scholar
Burton, W.B., Liszt, H.S.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 225, 815 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burton, W.B., Liszt, H.S.: 1983a, in ‘Surveys of the Southern Galaxy’, p. 149, ed. Burton, W.B. & Israel, F.P., Reidel Publ. Comp. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burton, W.B., Liszt, H.S.: 1983b, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 52, 63 Google Scholar
Cohen, R.J., Dent, W.R.F.: 1983, in ‘Surveys of the Southern Galaxy’, p. 159, ed. Burton, W.B. & Israel, F.P., Reidel Publ. Comp. Google Scholar
Cohen, R.J., Few, R.W.: 1976, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 176, 495 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, P., Güsten, R., Henkel, C.: 1988, Astron. Astrophys. in press Google Scholar
Cox, P., Laureys, R.: 1988, Astron. Astrophys. to be submitted Google Scholar
Cox, P., Mezger, P.G.: 1987, 3rd IRAS Conf. (ed.Lawrence, A.), p. 97, London Google Scholar
Dame, T.M., Ungerechts, H., Cohen, R.S., de Geus, E.J., Grenier, I.A., May, J., Murphy, D.C., Nyman, L.–A., Thaddeus, P.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 322, 706 Google Scholar
Danby, G., Flower, D.R., Valiron, P., Schilke, P., Walmsley, C.M.: 1988, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. in press Google Scholar
Elmegreen, B.G., Dickinson, D.F., Lada, C.J.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 220, 853 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleck, R.C.: 1980, Astrophys. J. 242, 1019 Google Scholar
Gardner, F.F., Boes, F.: 1987, Proc. Astron. Soc. Austr. 7, 185 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, F.F., Whiteoak, J.B.: 1982, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 199, 23p Google Scholar
Garmany, C.D., Conti, P.S., Chiosi, C.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 263, 777 Google Scholar
Güsten, R., Downes, D.: 1980, Astron. Astrophys. 87, 6 Google Scholar
Güsten, R., Henkel, C.: 1983, Astron. Astrophys. 125, 136 Google Scholar
Güsten, R., Mezger, P.G.: 1983, Vistas in Astronomy 26, 159 Google Scholar
Güsten, R., Ungerechts, H.: 1985, Astron. Astrophys. 145, 241 Google Scholar
Güsten, R., Walsmley, C.M., Pauls, T.: 1981, Astron. Astrophys. 103, 197 Google Scholar
Güsten, R., Walmsley, C.M., Ungerechts, H., Churchwell, E.: 1985, Astron. Astrophys. 142, 381 Google Scholar
Handa, T., Sofue, Y., Nakai, N., Hirabayashi, H., Inoue, M.: 1987, Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 39, 709 Google Scholar
Heiligman, G.M.: 1982, PhD thesis ‘Molecular Gas Near the Galactic Center’ Google Scholar
Heiligman, G.M.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 314, 747 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ho, P.T.P., Jackson, J.M., Barrett, A.H., Armstrong, J.T.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 288, 575 Google Scholar
Hollenbach, D.J., McKee, C.: 1981, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 41, 555 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kutner, M.L., Leung, C.M.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 291, 188 Google Scholar
Lequeux, J.: 1979, in ‘Star Formation’, p. 77, Geneva Observatory Google Scholar
Lerche, I., Schlickeiser, R.: 1982, Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 201, 1041 Google Scholar
Linke, R.A., Stark, A.A., Frerking, M.A.: 1981, Astrophys. J. 243, 147 Google Scholar
Liszt, H.S.: 1988, in ‘Galactic and Extragalactic Radio Astronomy’, p. 359 ed Verschuur, G. L. & Kellermann, K. I., A&A Library, Springer–Verlag Google Scholar
Liszt, H.S., Burton, W.B., Sanders, R.H., Scoville, N.Z.: 1977, Astrophys, J. 213, 38 Google Scholar
Liszt, H.S., Burton, W.B.: 1978, Astrophys. J. 226, 790 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liszt, H.S., Burton, W.B.: 1980, Astrophys. J. 236, 779 Google Scholar
Mauersberger, R., Henkel, C., Wilson, T.L., Walmsley, C.M.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 162, 199 Google Scholar
Mezger, P.G., Pauls, T.: 1979, in IAU Symp. 84, ‘Large–Scale Characteristics of the Galaxy’, p. 357, ed. Burton, W.B., Reidel Publ. Comp. Google Scholar
Mezger, P.G., Chini, R., Kreysa, E., Gemünd, H.P.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 160, 324 Google Scholar
Morris, M., Polish, N., Zuckerman, B., Kaifu, N.: 1983, Astron. J. 88, 1228 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouschovias, T. Ch.: 1987, ‘Physical Processes in Interstellar Clouds’, p. 453, ed. Morfill, G.E. & Scholer, M., Reidel Publ. Comp. Google Scholar
Mulder, W.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 156, 354 Google Scholar
Mulder, W., Liem, B.T.: 1896, Astron. Astrophys. 157, 148 Google Scholar
Odenwald, S.F., Fazio, G.G.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 283, 601 Google Scholar
Oort, J.H.: 1977, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 15, 295 Google Scholar
Oort, J.H.: 1982, ‘The Galactic Center’, p.180, ed. Riegler, G., AIP Proc. 83 Google Scholar
Pajot, F., Gispert, R., Lamarre, J.M., Peyturaux, R., Pomerantz, M.A., Puget, J.L., Serra, G., Maurel, C., Pfeiffer, R., Renault, J.C.: 1988, Astron. Astrophys. in press Google Scholar
Pauls, T., Downes, D., Mezger, P.G.: 1976, Astron. Astrophys. 46, 407 Google Scholar
Penzias, A.A.: 1980, Science 208, 663 Google Scholar
Pérault, M., Boulanger, F., Puget, J.L., Falgarone, E.: 1988, Astrophys. J. in press Google Scholar
Sanders, R.H.: 1979, in IAU Symp. 84, ‘Large–Scale Characteristics of the Galaxy’, p. 383, ed. Burton, W.B., Reidel Publ. Comp. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, R.H., Lowinger, T.: 1972, Astron. J. 77, 292 Google Scholar
Sanders, D.B., Solomon, P.M., Scoville, N.Z.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 276, 182 Google Scholar
Scalo, J.: 1986, Fundamentals in Cosmic Physics 11, 1 Google Scholar
Schmidt, J.: 1978, dissertation, Univ. Bonn Google Scholar
Schüller, M., Henkel, C., Güsten, R.: 1988, Astron. Astrophys. to be submitted Google Scholar
Serabyn, E., Güsten, R.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 161, 334 Google Scholar
Serabyn, E., Güsten, R.: 1987, Astron. Astrophys. 184, 133 Google Scholar
Serabyn, E., Güsten, R., Walmsley, C.M., Wink, J.E., Zylka, R.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 169, 85 Google Scholar
Sinha, R.P.: 1979, PhD thesis ‘Kinematics of HI Near the Galactic Center’ Google Scholar
Stacey, J.G., Bitran, M.E., Dame, T.M., Thaddeus, P.: 1988, Proc. 20th ICRC, Moscow Google Scholar
Stark, A.A., Bania, T.M.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 306, L17 Google Scholar
Stier, M.T., Dwek, E., Silverberg, R.F., Hauser, M.G., Cheung, L., Kelsall, T., Gezari, D.Y.: 1982, ‘The Galactic Center’, p. 42, ed. Riegler, G., AIP 83 Google Scholar
Thronson, H.A., Telesco, C.M.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 311, 98 Google Scholar
Vietri, M.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 306, 48 Google Scholar
Walmsley, C.M., Güsten, R., Angerhofer, P., Churchwell, E., Mundy, L.: 1986, Astr. Astrophys. 155, 129 Google Scholar
Wannier, P.G., Linke, R.A., Penzias, A.A.: 1981, Astrophys. J. 247, 522 Google Scholar
Whiteoak, J.B., Gardner, F.F.: 1979, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 188, 445 Google Scholar
Whiteoak, J.B., Gardner, F.F.: 1981, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 197, 39p Google Scholar
Wilson, T.L., Ruf, K., Walsmley, C.M., Martin, R.N., Pauls, T., Batrla, W.: 1982, Astron. Astrophys. 115, 185 Google Scholar
Zylka, R., Güsten, R., Henkel, C., Batrla, W.: 1988, Astron. Astrophys. submitted Google Scholar