ALMA Detection of Bipolar Outflows: Evidence for Low Mass Star Formation within 1pc of Sgr A*

Abstract

We report the discovery of 11 bipolar outflows within a projected distance of 1pc from Sgr A* based on deep ALMA observations of ${}^{13}$CO, H30$\alpha$ and SiO (5-4) lines with sub-arcsecond and $\sim 1.3$ km/s, resolutions. These unambiguous signatures of young protostars manifest as approaching and receding lobes of dense gas swept up by the jets created during the formation and early evolution of stars. The lobe masses and momentum transfer rates are consistent with young protostellar outflows found throughout the disk of the Galaxy. The mean dynamical age of the outflow population is estimated to be $6.5_{-3.6}^{+8.1}\times 10^3$ years. The rate of star formation is $\sim 5\times 10^{-4}$\msol\,yr${}^{-1}$ assuming a mean stellar mass of $\sim 0.3$ \msol. This discovery provides evidence that star formation is taking place within clouds surprisingly close to Sgr A*, perhaps due to events that compress the host cloud, creating condensations with sufficient self-gravity to resist tidal disruption by Sgr A*. Low-mass star formation over the past few billion years at this level would contribute significantly to the stellar mass budget in the central few pc of the Galaxy. The presence of many dense clumps of molecular material within 1pc of Sgr A* suggests that star formation could take place in the immediate vicinity of supermassive black holes in the nuclei of external galaxies

17 pages, 4 figures

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• Evidence for a jet and outflow from Sgr A*: a continuum and spectral line study
• On the origin of magnetic fields in stars II: The effect of numerical resolution
• Near- and mid-infrared observations in the inner tenth of a parsec of the Galactic center -- Detection of proper motion of a filament very close to Sgr~A*
• A new bow-shock source with bipolar morphology in the vicinity of Sgr A*
• First observed interaction of the circumstellar envelope of an S-star with the environment of Sgr A*
• X3: a high-mass Young Stellar Object close to the supermassive black hole Sgr~A*
• Revealing the Physical Conditions around Sgr A* using Bayesian Inference -- I. Observations and Radiative Transfer
• Candidate Young Stellar Objects in the S-cluster: The Kinematic Analysis of a Sub-population of the Low-mass G-objects close to Sgr A*
• Possible evidence from the flaring activity of Sgr A* for a star at a distance of ~3.3 Schwarzscild radii from the blackhole
• The X-ray variation of M81* resolved by Chandra and NuSTAR
• Disks of Stars in the Galactic center triggered by Tidal Disruption Events
• The Fate of Binary Stars Hosting Planets upon Interaction with Sgr A* Black hole