MILKY WAY SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE: DYNAMICAL FEEDING FROM THE CIRCUMNUCLEAR ENVIRONMENT
- Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei, 106 Taiwan (China)
- Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)
The supermassive black hole (SMBH), Sgr A*, at the Galactic center is surrounded by a molecular circumnuclear disk (CND) lying between 1.5 and 4 pc radii. The irregular and clumpy structures of the CND suggest dynamical evolution and episodic feeding of gas toward the central SMBH. New sensitive data from the Submillimeter Array and Green Bank Telescope reveal several >5-10 pc scale molecular arms, which either directly connect to the CND or may penetrate inside the CND. The CND appears to be the convergence of the innermost parts of large-scale gas streamers, which are responding to the central gravitational potential well. Rather than being a quasi-stationary structure, the CND may be dynamically evolving, incorporating inflow via streamers, and feeding gas toward the center.
- OSTI ID:
- 22092339
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 756, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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