2005ApJ...628..246E -
Astrophys. J., 628, 246-259 (2005/July-3)
SINFONI in the Galactic Center: young stars and infrared flares in the central light-month.
EISENHAUER F., GENZEL R., ALEXANDER T., ABUTER R., PAUMARD T., OTT T., GILBERT A., GILLESSEN S., HORROBIN M., TRIPPE S., BONNET H., DUMAS C., HUBIN N., KAUFER A., KISSLER-PATIG M., MONNET G., STROBELE S., SZEIFERT T., ECKART A., SCHODEL R. and ZUCKER S.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report on 75 mas resolution, near-IR imaging spectroscopy within the central 30 lt-days of the Galactic center, taken with the new adaptive optics-assisted integral-field spectrometer SINFONI on the ESO VLT. To a limiting magnitude of K∼16, 9 of 10 stars in the central 0".4, and 13 of 17 stars out to 0".7 from the central black hole have spectral properties of B0-B9 main-sequence stars. Based on the 2.1127 µm He I line width, all brighter early-type stars have normal rotation velocities, similar to solar neighborhood stars. We combine the new radial velocities with SHARP/NACO astrometry to derive improved three-dimensional stellar orbits for six of these ``S stars'' in the central 0".5. Their orientations in space appear random. Their orbital planes are not co-aligned with those of the two disks of massive young stars 1"-10" from Sgr A*. We can thus exclude the hypothesis that the S stars as a group inhabit the inner regions of these disks. They also cannot have been located/formed in these disks and then migrated inward within their planes. From the combination of their normal rotation and random orbital orientations, we conclude that the S stars were most likely brought into the central light-month by strong individual scattering events. The updated estimate of distance to the Galactic center from the S2 orbit fit is R0=7.62±0.32 kpc, resulting in a central mass value of (3.61±0.32)x106 M☉. We happened to catch two smaller flaring events from Sgr A* during our spectral observations. The 1.7-2.45 µm spectral energy distributions of these flares are fit by a featureless, ``red'' power law of spectral index α'=-4±1 (Sν~να'). The observed spectral slope is in good agreement with synchrotron models in which the infrared emission comes from accelerated, nonthermal, high-energy electrons in a radiatively inefficient accretion flow in the central R∼10RS region.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
Black Hole Physics - Galaxy: Center - Galaxy: Structure - Infrared: Stars - Techniques: Spectroscopic
Nomenclature:
Fig.1: [EG97] SNN (No. S17) added.
Simbad objects:
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