Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21724118d&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #241.18; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
The core of the Galactic center nuclear star cluster contains populations of both old (> 1 Gyr) and young stars (˜ 6 Myr). Recently, using laser guide star adaptive optics in conjunction with integral-field spectroscopy, it has been possible to distinguish between two populations to study their distribution and kinematics separately. The radial profile for the old stars was found to be significantly flatter than predicted by theories of stellar cusp formation around massive black holes. Based on number counts alone, it is unclear whether there is a `hole’ in the distribution of old stars at the center or if the space density of stars is constant. Distinguishing between these two scenarios will be important to constrain the range of models of cusp depletion. Here, we report on the results of a radial extension of our previous spectroscopic survey out to 0.5 pc from Sgr A*, doubling the number of spectroscopically identified late-type giants. With the addition of astrometry, we are able to obtain 3D velocities for these stars, and in some cases, acceleration measurements. We are able to place better constraints on the three-dimensional profile of the cluster core than is possible with number counts alone. This survey also results in newly detected young, faint, B-stars along the plane of the young stellar disk at the Galactic center; significantly more stars were found than expected based on the previously observed luminosity function in this region. We also find that the radial profile of the surface density of young stars along the disk plane is flatter than was found in previous studies that sample largely perpendicularly to the disk plane.
Do Tuan
Ghez Andrea
Larkin Jason
Lu Jessica R.
Matthews Keith
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