Mass Distribution in the Central Few Parsecs of Our Galaxy

Abstract

We estimate the enclosed mass profile in the central 10 pc of the Milky Way by analyzing the infrared photometry and the velocity observations of dynamically relaxed stellar population in the Galactic center. HST/NICMOS and Gemini Adaptive Optics images in the archive are used to obtain the number density profile, and proper motion and radial velocity data were compiled from the literature to find the velocity dispersion profile assuming a spherical symmetry and velocity isotropy. From these data, we calculate the enclosed mass and density profiles in the central 10 pc of the Galaxy using the Jeans equation. Our improved estimates can better describe the exact evolution of the molecular clouds and star clusters falling down to the Galactic center, and constrain the star formation history of the inner part of the Galaxy.

To appear in the Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society, vol. 42, p. 17 (2009)

References in corpus (8)

• Monitoring stellar orbits around the Massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center
• Measuring Distance and Properties of the Milky Way's Central Supermassive Black Hole with Stellar Orbits
• The Two Young Star Disks in the Central Parsec of the Galaxy: Properties, Dynamics and Formation
• A Disk of Young Stars at the Galactic Center as Determined by Individual Stellar Orbits
• The structure of the nuclear stellar cluster of the Milky Way
• Simulations of star formation in a gaseous disc around sgr A* - a failed AGN
• Massive Star Formation in the Molecular Ring Orbiting the Black Hole at the Galactic Center
• Radial Velocities of Stars in the Galactic Center

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Dissipationless Formation and Evolution of the Milky Way Nuclear Star Cluster
• Co-Evolution of Galactic Nuclei and Globular Cluster Systems
• Galactic Rotation Curves vs. Ultra-Light Dark Matter: Implications of the Soliton -- Host Halo Relation
• Origin and growth of nuclear star clusters around massive black holes
• The Role of the Kozai-Lidov Mechanism in Black Hole Binary Mergers in Galactic Centers
• Dynamical Friction around Supermassive Black Holes
• Electromagnetic Counterparts to Massive Black Hole Mergers
• Long-term evolution of massive black hole binaries. IV. Mergers of galaxies with collisionally relaxed nuclei
• On the distribution of stellar remnants around massive black holes: slow mass segregation, star cluster inspirals and correlated orbits
• Tidal breakup of binary stars at the Galactic Center. II. Hydrodynamic simulations
• The High-Density Ionized Gas in the Central Parsec of the Galaxy
• AGN Broad Line Regions Scale with Bolometric Luminosity