Morris, Mark and Serabyn, Eugene (1996) The Galactic Center Environment. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 34 . pp. 645-701. ISSN 0066-4146. doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.34.1.645. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170905-083817972
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Abstract
The central half kiloparsec region of our Galaxy harbors a variety of phenomena unique to the central environment. This review discusses the observed structure and activity of the interstellar medium in this region in terms of its inevitable inflow toward the center of the Galactic gravitational potential well. A number of dissipative processes lead to a strong concentration of gas into a “Central Molecular Zone” of about 200-pc radius, in which the molecular medium is characterized by large densities, large velocity dispersions, high temperatures, and apparently strong magnetic fields. The physical state of the gas and the resultant star formation processes occurring in this environment are therefore quite unlike those occurring in the large-scale disk. Gas not consumed by star formation either enters a hot X ray–emitting halo and is lost as a thermally driven galactic wind or continues moving inward, probably discontinuously, through the domain of the few parsec-sized circumnuclear disks and eventually into the central parsec. There, the central radio source SgrA* currently accepts only a tiny fraction of the inflowing material, likely as a result of a limit cycle wherein the continual inflow of matter provokes star formation, which in turn can temporarily halt the inflow via mass-outflow winds.
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Additional Information: | © 1996 Annual Reviews. We thank our many colleagues who avidly contributed with discussions, unpublished data, preparation of figures, and/or readings of the preliminary manuscript: R Blandford, J Carlstrom, JA Davidson, D Dowell, I Gatley, RH Hildebrand, JH Lacy, DC Lis, N Mastrodemos, S Phinney, DL Shupe, S Stolovy, K Uchida, and MCH Wright We also appreciate little Nicholas Serabyn's unrelenting interest in the flavor of the manuscript. | |||||||||
Subject Keywords: | Galactic bar, magnetic fields, SgrA*, circumnuclear disk, star formation, molecular clouds, black holes, X rays | |||||||||
DOI: | 10.1146/annurev.astro.34.1.645 | |||||||||
Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20170905-083817972 | |||||||||
Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170905-083817972 | |||||||||
Official Citation: | THE GALACTIC CENTER ENVIRONMENT Mark Morris Eugene Serabyn Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 1996 34:1, 645-701 | |||||||||
Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | |||||||||
ID Code: | 81124 | |||||||||
Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | |||||||||
Deposited By: | Tony Diaz | |||||||||
Deposited On: | 05 Sep 2017 18:10 | |||||||||
Last Modified: | 15 Nov 2021 19:41 |
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