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arXiv 1002.1775astro-ph.GA
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用Milky Way核星团的观测检验恒星尖点形成理论

Testing stellar cusp formation theories with observations of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster

Tuan Do, Andrea M. Ghez, Mark R. Morris, Jessica R. Lu, Keith Matthews, Sylvana Yelda, Shelley Wright, James Larkin

摘要:

本文报道了银河系最内层0.16pc的核星团的结构,它是由晚型巨星的数密度分布测量的。使用激光导星自适应光学与积分场摄谱仪,OSIRIS,在凯克II望远镜,我们能够区分较老的,晚型(~ 1 Gyr)的恒星,这被认为是动态放松,和未放松的年轻(~ 6百万年)人口。这种区别是至关重要的测试模型的恒星尖点形成附近的一个黑洞,因为模型假设,尖点恒星在动态平衡的黑洞潜力。我们发现,来自年轻恒星的污染是显著的,在我们的灵敏度范围内(K < 15.5),在中心弧秒内,年轻恒星的数量是老恒星的两倍多。仅以晚型恒星为基础,表面恒星数密度剖面是平坦的,投影的幂律斜率为-0.26+-0.24。这些结果与没有尖点的核星团是一致的,核心轮廓比大多数尖点形成理论预测的要平坦得多。在这里,我们还审查的方法,进一步约束真正的三维径向轮廓使用运动学测量。在天空平面上以及沿着视线的精确加速度测量有可能直接测量密度分布,以确定在0.1 pc的内部晚型恒星的分布中是否存在“洞”。

英文摘要:

(Abridged) We report on the structure of the nuclear star cluster in the innermost 0.16 pc of the Galaxy as measured by the number density profile of late-type giants. Using laser guide star adaptive optics in conjunction with the integral field spectrograph, OSIRIS, at the Keck II telescope, we are able to differentiate between the older, late-type (~ 1 Gyr) stars, which are presumed to be dynamically relaxed, and the unrelaxed young (~ 6 Myr) population. This distinction is crucial for testing models of stellar cusp formation in the vicinity of a black hole, as the models assume that the cusp stars are in dynamical equilibrium in the black hole potential. We find that contamination from young stars is significant, with more than twice as many young stars as old stars in our sensitivity range (K < 15.5) within the central arcsecond. Based on the late-type stars alone, the surface stellar number density profile, is flat, with a projected power law slope of -0.26+-0.24. These results are consistent with the nuclear star cluster having no cusp, with a core profile that is significantly flatter than predicted by most cusp formation theories. Here, we also review the methods for further constraining the true three-dimensional radial profile using kinematic measurements. Precise acceleration measurements in the plane of the sky as well as along the line of sight has the potential to directly measure the density profile to establish whether there is a "hole" in the distribution of late-type stars in the inner 0.1 pc.

机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来,可能存在错误,请以论文正文为准。

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