A New Cluster of Hot Stars near the Galactic Center

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

We describe a previously unreported stellar cluster ~ 12' north of the Galactic Center in the vicinity of the Arched Filaments. The cluster was found during observations made in July 1992 at the Anglo-Australian Telescope with the facility infrared imaging spectrometer IRIS. IRIS is a 128times128 pixel format Rockwell HgCdTe array detector for which we chose an image scale of 0.6'' per pixel. The seeing was <1'' FWHM. Broad band images at J, H and K(') provided positions and magnitudes of the stars. The cluster diameter is about 45'' with most of the stars concentrated in the central 15''. The H-K(') colors of the stars are consistent with A_v ~ 30 as seen towards the Galactic Center. Scans of the cluster in spectroscopic mode revealed approximately 10 stars with Brgamma (2.166 microns) emission of which roughly a third also show fainter He I. (2.058 microns) emission. The spectra provide evidence of hot young stars. A similar spectral scan of the compact cluster AFGL 2004 (Glass et al., 1990, MNRAS, 242, 55; Nagata et al., 1990, ApJ, 351, 83; Moneti et al., 1991, MSAI, 62, 755) reveals only two stars with Brgamma and He I. lines but both show He I. stronger than Brgamma , indicative of effective temperatures exceeding 40,000K and/or high helium abundances. In conjunction with AFGL 2004 and the He I. emission cluster centered about Sgr A(*) (Krabbe et al., 1991, ApJ, 382, L19), the new cluster provides further evidence of recent star formation in the Galactic Center region. We will discuss the Brgamma flux, the spectral classification and the luminosity of the new cluster and compare it with AFGL 2004. By estimating the total flux, we shall establish a lower limit on the UV luminosity produced and compare that with the flux needed to excite the nearby radio emission peak G0.095+0.12 and the Arched Filaments.

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