Other
Scientific paper
Mar 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998gcnew...7....3h&link_type=abstract
GCNEWS - Galactic Center Newsletter, vol. 7, p. 3-6 (eds. A. Cotera & H. Falcke)
Other
2
Galactic Center, Ism, Molecular Clouds, Surveys
Scientific paper
The article gives a summary of large scale surveys of molecular gas in the Galactic center (GC) region and a justification of their necessity. The molecular interstellar medium (ISM) in the inner ~500 pc of the Milky Way is distinctly different from the ISM in the disk of the Galaxy. In this `Central Molecular Zone' (CMZ), the chemistry, traced by the abundance of molecular species like SiO and HNCO, is also different from most disk clouds and may be dominated by shocks. The GC ISM is characterized by a warm (>100K), diffuse, probably unbound very widespread component that dominates the emission in ^12CO, and frequently cool (~20-30K) denser cores containing the bulk of the mass. Due to these properties, widely used concepts applied to the molecular ISM, most prominently the `I(CO)-N(H2)-conversion' to determine molecular masses, break down here. Large scale surveys in as many molecules, isotopomers and transitions as possible are essential to understand the structure of the CMZ. So far, multiline surveys exist only for CO (12CO(1-0), 12CO(2-1), 13CO(1-0), C18O(1-0)). In addition, there are one transition maps of CS, HCN and (on a smaller scale) SiO and HNCO. The information gained in the individual existing surveys should be combined and - ideally - data on other molecules (HNC, HCO+, CH3OH, CN etc.) at as high a resolution as possible should be added. This, however, would probably require a dedicated survey telescope. The gain of these surveys goes beyond the GC region, since it can be considered a nearby laboratory where processes relevant for most external galaxies, from normal to luminous starburst systems, can be studied in detail.
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