Indication of Another Intermediate-mass Black Hole in the Galactic Center

Abstract

We report the discovery of molecular gas streams orbiting around an invisible massive object in the central region of our Galaxy, based on the high-resolution molecular line observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The morphology and kinematics of these streams can be reproduced well through two Keplerian orbits around a single point mass of $(3.2\pm 0.6)\times 10^4{M}_{\odot }$. We also found ionized gas toward the inner part of the orbiting gas, indicating dissociative shock and/or photoionization. Our results provide new circumstantial evidences for a wandering intermediate-mass black hole in the Galactic center, suggesting also that high-velocity compact clouds can be probes of quiescent black holes abound in our Galaxy.

Accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal Letters

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Cited by in corpus (19)

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• The growth of intermediate mass black holes through tidal captures and tidal disruption events
• The Galactic Center as a laboratory for theories of gravity and dark matter
• The Fifth Candidate for an Intermediate-mass Black Hole in the Galactic Center
• On Detecting Nearby Nano-Hertz Gravitational Wave Sources via Pulsar Timing Arrays
• Radio observations of four active galactic nuclei hosting intermediate-mass black hole candidates: studying the outflow activity and evolution
• Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion on to black hole accretion disks with super-Eddington luminosity for dusty gas
• Astrophysics with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
• Identification of Intermediate-mass Black Hole Candidates Among a Sample of Sd Galaxies
• Catalog of High Velocity Dispersion Compact Clouds in the Central Molecular Zone of Our Galaxy
• Discovery of the Tadpole Molecular Cloud near the Galactic Nucleus
• Broad-velocity-width Molecular Features in the Galactic Plane
• ALMA View of the High-velocity-dispersion Compact Cloud CO 0.02-0.02 at the Galactic Center
• Coronal heating problem solution by means of axion origin photons
• Partial tidal disruption of White Dwarfs in off-equatorial orbits around Kerr black holes
• Parabolic-like Trend in SiO Ratios throughout the Central Molecular Zone: Possible Signature of a Past Nuclear Activity in the Galactic Center
• Hidden metallic iron in amorphous silicate dust? Insights from condensation experiments and mid-infrared spectroscopy
• Tidal disruptions of close white dwarf binaries by intermediate mass black holes