Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009hst..prop12182d&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #12182. Cycle 18
Physics
Scientific paper
Nuclear star clusters have been proposed as a byproduct of galaxy formation, analogous to supermassive black holes, because their mass scales with host galaxy properties in a similar way as the {M_bh-sigma} and {M_bh-M_bulge} relationships. While the nuclear star cluster at the center of the Milky Way offers us an opportunity to study such a system with a level of detail not possible in external galaxies, this potential has not been realized due to the impracticality in obtaining wide-field, high angular resolution, and high precision kinematic measurements from the ground. We propose to use WFC3 on HST to measure, for the first time, the proper motions of stars out beyond the half-light radius of the cluster { 7 pc}. These observations will allow us to derive three fundamental properties of the cluster that have been poorly constrained in the past: {1} the total mass, {2} the distribution of mass, and {3} the rotational signature of the cluster. The underlying mass distribution and total mass are requirements for placing the Milky Way nucleus in context with galaxy scaling relationships. The rotational profile will provide constraints on the origin of the nuclear star cluster, offering perhaps a physical explanation for the link between supermassive black holes and nuclear star clusters.;
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