No Arabic abstract
We demonstrate that the accretion disk model for the Galactic Center region by Linden et al (1993a) is applicable for at least one order of magnitude in radius from the Galactic Center (10 ... 100 pc). The viscosity $ u$ is shown to be weakly dependent on the radius $s$: $ u sim s^{0.4}$. Finally, we discuss the influence of the inner boundary on the structure of the inner disk regions.
This letter presents a Nyquist-sampled, high-resolution [CI] 3P1-3P0 map of the -0.2 deg < l < 1.2 deg x -0.1 deg < b < 0 deg region in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) taken with the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE) 10 m telescope. We have found that molecular clouds in the CMZ can be classified into two groups according to their [CI]/13CO intensity ratios: a bulk component consisting with clouds with a low, uniform [CI]/13CO ratio (0.45) and another component consisting of clouds with high [CI]/13CO ratios (> 0.8). The [CI]-enhanced regions appear in M-0.02-0.07, the circumnuclear disk, the 180-pc ring and the high velocity compact cloud CO+0.02-0.02. We have carried out a large velocity gradient (LVG) analysis and have derived the C^0/CO column density ratio for M-0.02-0.07 as 0.47, which is approximately twice that of the bulk component of the CMZ (0.26). We propose several hypotheses on the origin of high C^0 abundance in M-0.02-0.07, including cosmic-ray/X-ray dissociation and mechanical dissociation of CO in the pre-existing molecular clouds. We also suggest the possibility that M-0.02-0.07 is a cloud at an early stage of chemical evolution from diffuse gas, which was possibly formed by the bar-induced mass inflow in the Galactic Center region.
The Galactic bar plays a critical role in the evolution of the Milky Ways Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), as its potential drives mass inward toward the Galactic Center via gas flows known as dust lanes. To explore the interaction between the CMZ and the dust lanes, we run hydrodynamic simulations in Arepo, modeling the potential of the Milky Ways bar in the absence of gas self-gravity and star formation physics, and we study the flows of mass using Monte Carlo tracer particles. We estimate the efficiency of the inflow via the dust lanes, finding that only about a third (30 +/- 12%) of the dust lanes mass initially accretes onto the CMZ, while the rest overshoots and accretes later. Given observational estimates of the amount of gas within the Milky Ways dust lanes, this suggests that the true total inflow rate onto the CMZ is 0.8 +/- 0.6 Msun yr$^{-1}$. Clouds in this simulated CMZ have sudden peaks in their average density near apocenter, where they undergo violent collisions with inflowing material. While these clouds tend to counter-rotate due to shear, co-rotating clouds occasionally occur (~52% are strongly counter-rotating, and ~7% are strongly co-rotating of the 44 cloud sample), likely due to the injection of momentum from collisions with inflowing material. We investigate the formation and evolution of these clouds, finding that they are fed by many discrete inflow events, providing a consistent source of gas to CMZ clouds even as they collapse and form stars.
Distance measurements to molecular clouds are essential and important. We present directly measured distances to 169 molecular clouds in the fourth quadrant of the Milky Way. Based on the near-infrared photometry from the Two Micron All Sky Survey and the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea Survey, we select red clump stars in the overlapping directions of the individual molecular clouds and infer the bin averaged extinction values and distances to these stars. We track the extinction versus distance profiles of the sightlines toward the clouds and fit them with Gaussian dust distribution models to find the distances to the clouds. We have obtained distances to 169 molecular clouds selected from Rice et al. The clouds range in distances between 2 and 11 kpc from the Sun. The typical internal uncertainties in the distances are less than 5 per cent and the systematic uncertainty is about 7 per cent. The catalogue presented in this work is one of the largest homogeneous catalogues of distant molecular clouds with the direct measurement of distances. Based on the catalogue, we have tested different spiral arm models from the literature.
We present a survey of molecules in a sample of Galactic center molecular clouds using the Karl G. Jansky Very large Array, which includes M0.25+0.01, the clouds near Sgr A, and Sgr B2. The molecules detected are primarily NH3 and HC3N; in Sgr B2-N we also detect nonmetastable NH3, vibrationally-excited HC3N, torsionally-excited CH3OH, and numerous isotopologues of these species. 36 GHz Class I CH3OH masers are ubiquitous in these fields, and in several cases are associated with new NH3 (3,3) maser candidates. We also find that NH3 and HC3N are depleted or absent toward several of the highest dust column density peaks identified in submillimeter observations, which are associated with water masers and are thus likely in the early stages of star formation.
We present 74 MHz radio continuum observations of the Galactic center region. These measurements show nonthermal radio emission arising from molecular clouds that is unaffected by free-free absorption along the line of sight. We focus on one cloud, G0.13--0.13, representative of the population of molecular clouds that are spatially correlated with steep spectrum (alpha^{74MHz}_{327MHz}=1.3pm0.3) nonthermal emission from the Galactic center region. This cloud lies adjacent to the nonthermal radio filaments of the Arc near l~0.2^0 and is a strong source of 74 MHz continuum, SiO (2-1) and FeI Kalpha 6.4 keV line emission. This three-way correlation provides the most compelling evidence yet that relativistic electrons, here traced by 74 MHz emission, are physically associated with the G0.13--0.13 molecular cloud and that low energy cosmic ray electrons are responsible for the FeI Kalpha line emission. The high cosmic ray ionization rate ~10-13 s-1 H-1 is responsible for heating the molecular gas to high temperatures and allows the disturbed gas to maintain a high velocity dispersion. LVG modeling of multi-transition SiO observations of this cloud implies H2 densities ~104-5 cm-3 and high temperatures. The lower limit to the temperature of G0.13-0.13 is ~100K, whereas the upper limit is as high as 1000K. Lastly, we used a time-dependent chemical model in which cosmic rays drive the chemistry of the gas to investigate for molecular line diagnostics of cosmic ray heating. When the cloud reaches chemical equilibrium, the abundance ratios of HCN/HNC and N2H+/HCO+ are consistent with measured values. In addition, significant abundance of SiO is predicted in the cosmic ray dominated region of the Galactic center. We discuss different possibilities to account for the origin of widespread SiO emission detected from Galactic center molecular clouds.