Were There Significant Starburst Episodes near the Galactic Center?

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

14

Galaxy: Center, Galaxy: Stellar Content, Gamma Rays: Theory, Stars: Formation, Stars: Pulsars: General

Scientific paper

It has been suggested that the Galactic center region experienced a giant explosion ˜1.5 × 107 yr ago, releasing in excess of ˜1056 ergs. This energy could be due to a starburst involving more than ˜105 supernovae, or it might be due to a massive black hole at the Galactic center. The former scenario can, in principle, be tested through a search for either the resulting γ-ray lines from the production of radioactive species or a search for the radio pulsars that were injected into the Galactic gravitational field during the starburst. Because of their high space velocities pulsars, could be a useful tracer of such starburst episodes. We present an exploratory study of pulsars associated with starbursts in or near the Galactic center and argue that a dedicated radio search for these pulsars might be able to identify the signature of a starburst. Detection of pulsars from a brief and recent injection period would also provide a valuable tool for studying the gravitational potential in the Galactic bulge region. This part of the Galactic mass model is poorly understood, but has significant implications for studies of the Galactic center bar as well as observations of gravitational microlensing of stars in the bulge.

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

Were There Significant Starburst Episodes near 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 Were There Significant Starburst Episodes near the Galactic Center?, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Were There Significant Starburst Episodes near the Galactic Center? will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1170274

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