Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Proper Motion Measurements of Stars in the Central Parsec of the Galactic Center

Physics – Optics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

We present new proper motion measurements of stars within a 1 pc x 1 pc region centered on our Galaxy's central black hole using diffraction-limited K-band images taken with the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system on the W. M. Keck II 10 m telescope. Using the velocity dispersion to estimate mass, we find that at large radii, the enclosed mass is consistent with that inferred from stellar orbits much closer in. However, at smaller radii, the velocity dispersion under-predicts the mass of the black hole by a factor of two. Velocity dispersions in the plane of the sky for this sample suggest an inner hole in the old stellar population, in agreement with the findings of Figer et al. (2003) based on radial velocity work. This resolves the apparent discrepancy between the two methods.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Proper Motion Measurements of Stars in the Central Parsec of the Galactic Center 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 Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Proper Motion Measurements of Stars in the Central Parsec of the Galactic Center, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Proper Motion Measurements of Stars in the Central Parsec of the Galactic Center will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1475035

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.