Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-01-15
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 349 (2004) 1167
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
13 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. PDF including high-resolution figures is available at http://www.nr
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07603.x
We present a method to derive positions of molecular clouds along the lines of sight from a quantitative comparison between 2.6 mm CO emission lines and 18 cm OH absorption lines, and apply it to the central kiloparsecs of the Milky Way. With some simple but justifiable assumptions, we derive a face-on distribution of the CO brightness and corresponding radial velocity in the Galactic centre without any help of kinematical models. The derived face-on distribution of the gas is elongated and inclined so that the Galactic-eastern (positive longitude) side is closer to us. The gas distribution is dominated by a barlike central condensation, whose apparent size is 500x200 pc. A ridge feature is seen to stretch from one end of the central condensation, though its elongated morphology might be artificial. The velocity field shows clear signs of noncircular motion in the central condensation. The `expanding molecular ring' feature corresponds to the peripheral region surrounding the central condensation with the Galactic-eastern end being closer to us. These characteristics agree with a picture in which the kinematics of the gas in the central kiloparsec of the Galaxy is under a strong influence of a barred potential. The face-on distribution of the in situ pressure of the molecular gas is derived from the CO multiline analysis. The derived pressure is found to be highest in the central 100 pc. In this region, the gas is accumulating and is forming stars.
Cohen Richard J.
Handa Toshihiro
Hasegawa Takuya
Sawada Tsuyoshi
No associations
LandOfFree
A Molecular Face-on View of the Galactic Centre Region does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A Molecular Face-on View of the Galactic Centre Region, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Molecular Face-on View of the Galactic Centre Region will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-299394