scholarly journals The Milky Way nuclear star cluster beyond 1 pc

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S303) ◽  
pp. 223-227
Author(s):  
A. Feldmeier ◽  
N. Neumayer ◽  
A. Seth ◽  
P. T. de Zeeuw ◽  
R. Schödel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Kinematic Model ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Stellar Disk ◽  
Reference Object ◽  
Black Hole Mass ◽  
Data Set ◽  
External Galaxies

AbstractWithin the central 10 pc of our Galaxy lies a dense cluster of stars, the nuclear star cluster, forming a distinct component of our Galaxy. Nuclear star clusters are common objects and are detected in ∼75% of nearby galaxies. It is, however, not fully understood how nuclear clusters form. Because the Milky Way nuclear star cluster is at a distance of only 8 kpc, we can spatially resolve its stellar populations and kinematics much better than in external galaxies. This makes the Milky Way nuclear star cluster a reference object for understanding the structure and assembly history of all nuclear star clusters.We have obtained an unparalleled data set using the near-infrared long-slit spectrograph ISAAC (VLT) in a novel drift-scan technique to construct an integral-field spectroscopic map of the central ∼10 × 8 pc of our Galaxy. To complement our data set we also observed fields out to a distance of ∼19 pc along the Galactic plane to disentangle the influence of the nuclear stellar disk.From this data set we extract a stellar kinematic map using the CO bandheads and an emission line kinematic map using H2 emission lines. Using the stellar kinematics, we set up a kinematic model for the Milky Way nuclear star cluster to derive its mass and constrain the central Galactic potential. Because the black hole mass in the Milky Way is precisely known, this kinematic data set will also serve as a benchmark for testing black hole mass modeling techniques used in external galaxies.

scholarly journals The Assembly History of the Milky Way Nuclear Star Cluster

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (S316) ◽  
pp. 50-54
Author(s):  
A. Feldmeier-Krause ◽  
N. Neumayer ◽  
R. Schödel ◽  
A. Seth ◽  
P. T. de Zeeuw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Reference Object ◽  
Early Type ◽  
Distinct Component ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early Type Stars ◽  
Integral Field Spectrograph

AbstractWithin the central 10 pc of our Galaxy lies a dense cluster of stars, the nuclear star cluster. This cluster forms a distinct component of our Galaxy. Nuclear star clusters are common objects and are detected in ~ 75% of nearby galaxies. It is, however, not fully understood how nuclear star clusters form. The Milky Way nuclear star cluster is the closest of its kind. At a distance of only 8 kpc we can spatially resolve its stellar populations and kinematics much better than in external galaxies. This makes the Milky Way nuclear star cluster the perfect local reference object for understanding the structure and assembly history of nuclear star clusters in general. There are of the order of 107 stars within the central 10 pc of the Galactic center. Most of these stars are several Gyr old late-type stars. However, there are also more than 100 hot early-type stars in the central parsec of the Milky Way, with ages of only a few Myr. Beyond a projected distance of 0.5 pc of the Galactic center, the density of young stars was largely unknown, since only very few spectroscopic observations existed so far. We covered the central >4 pc2 (0.75 sq.arcmin) of the Galactic center using the integral-field spectrograph KMOS (VLT). We extracted more than 1,000 spectra from individual stars and identified >20 new early-type stars based on their spectra. We studied the spatial distribution of the different populations and their kinematics to put constraints on the assembly history of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster.

scholarly journals The old nuclear star cluster in the Milky Way: dynamics, mass, statistical parallax, and black hole mass

2014 ◽  
Vol 447 (1) ◽  
pp. 948-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Chatzopoulos ◽  
T. K. Fritz ◽  
O. Gerhard ◽  
S. Gillessen ◽  
C. Wegg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Black Hole Mass

scholarly journals Wandering of the central black hole in a galactic nucleus and correlation of the black hole mass with the bulge mass

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajime Inoue
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Energy Gain ◽  
Stellar Disk ◽  
Black Hole Mass ◽  
Central Black Hole ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Stellar Cluster ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Simple Parameter

Abstract We investigate a mechanism for a super-massive black hole at the center of a galaxy to wander in the nucleus region. A situation is supposed in which the central black hole tends to move by the gravitational attractions from the nearby molecular clouds in a nuclear bulge but is braked via the dynamical frictions from the ambient stars there. We estimate the approximate kinetic energy of the black hole in an equilibrium between the energy gain rate through the gravitational attractions and the energy loss rate through the dynamical frictions in a nuclear bulge composed of a nuclear stellar disk and a nuclear stellar cluster as observed from our Galaxy. The wandering distance of the black hole in the gravitational potential of the nuclear bulge is evaluated to get as large as several 10 pc, when the black hole mass is relatively small. The distance, however, shrinks as the black hole mass increases, and the equilibrium solution between the energy gain and loss disappears when the black hole mass exceeds an upper limit. As a result, we can expect the following scenario for the evolution of the black hole mass: When the black hole mass is smaller than the upper limit, mass accretion of the interstellar matter in the circumnuclear region, causing the AGN activities, makes the black hole mass larger. However, when the mass gets to the upper limit, the black hole loses the balancing force against the dynamical friction and starts spiraling downward to the gravity center. From simple parameter scaling, the upper mass limit of the black hole is found to be proportional to the bulge mass, and this could explain the observed correlation of the black hole mass with the bulge mass.

scholarly journals Refining the mass estimate for the intermediate-mass black hole candidate in NGC 3319

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Davis ◽  
Alister W. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Rotational Velocity ◽  
Logarithmic Spiral ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Black Hole Mass ◽  
Intermediate Mass ◽  
Mass Scaling ◽  
Cluster Mass

Abstract Recent X-ray observations by Jiang et al. have identified an active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the bulgeless spiral galaxy NGC 3319, located just $14.3\pm 1.1$ Mpc away, and suggest the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH; $10^2\leq M_\bullet/\textrm{M}_{\odot}\leq 10^5$ ) if the Eddington ratios are as high as 3 to $3\times10^{-3}$ . In an effort to refine the black hole mass for this (currently) rare class of object, we have explored multiple black hole mass scaling relations, such as those involving the (not previously used) velocity dispersion, logarithmic spiral arm pitch angle, total galaxy stellar mass, nuclear star cluster mass, rotational velocity, and colour of NGC 3319, to obtain 10 mass estimates, of differing accuracy. We have calculated a mass of $3.14_{-2.20}^{+7.02}\times10^4\,\textrm{M}_\odot$ , with a confidence of 84% that it is $\leq $ $10^5\,\textrm{M}_\odot$ , based on the combined probability density function from seven of these individual estimates. Our conservative approach excluded two black hole mass estimates (via the nuclear star cluster mass and the fundamental plane of black hole activity—which only applies to black holes with low accretion rates) that were upper limits of ${\sim}10^5\,{\textrm M}_{\odot}$ , and it did not use the $M_\bullet$ – $L_{\textrm 2-10\,\textrm{keV}}$ relation’s prediction of $\sim$ $10^5\,{\textrm M}_{\odot}$ . This target provides an exceptional opportunity to study an IMBH in AGN mode and advance our demographic knowledge of black holes. Furthermore, we introduce our novel method of meta-analysis as a beneficial technique for identifying new IMBH candidates by quantifying the probability that a galaxy possesses an IMBH.

A deep view into the nucleus of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy: M54

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S351) ◽  
pp. 47-50
Author(s):  
M. Alfaro-Cuello ◽  
N. Kacharov ◽  
N. Neumayer ◽  
A. Mastrobuono-Battisti ◽  
N. Lützgendorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metal Complex ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Dwarf Galaxies ◽  
Dwarf Galaxy ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Data Set

AbstractNuclear star clusters hosted by dwarf galaxies exhibit similar characteristics to high-mass, metal complex globular clusters. This type of globular clusters could, therefore, be former nuclei from accreted galaxies. M54 resides in the photometric center of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, at a distance where resolving stars is possible. M54 offers the opportunity to study a nucleus before the stripping of their host by the tidal field effects of the Milky Way. We use a MUSE data set to perform a detailed analysis of over 6600 stars. We characterize the stars by metallicity, age, and kinematics, identifying the presence of three stellar populations: a young metal-rich (YMR), an intermediate-age metal-rich (IMR), and an old metal-poor (OMP). The evidence suggests that the OMP population is the result of accretion of globular clusters in the center of the host, while the YMR population was born in-situ in the center of the OMP population.

scholarly journals The Milky Way's nuclear star cluster and massive black hole

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S312) ◽  
pp. 274-281
Author(s):  
Rainer Schödel
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Kinematics And Dynamics ◽  
Central Black Hole ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Concise Overview ◽  
Galaxy Nucleus

AbstractBecause of its nearness to Earth, the centre of the Milky Way is the only galaxy nucleus in which we can study the characteristics, distribution, kinematics, and dynamics of the stars on milli-parsec scales. We have accurate and precise measurements of the Galactic centre's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, and can study its interaction with the surrounding nuclear star cluster in detail. This contribution aims at providing a concise overview of our current knowledge about the Milky Way's central black hole and nuclear star cluster, at highlighting the observational challenges and limitations, and at discussing some of the current key areas of investigation.

scholarly journals Star Cluster Migration Near the Galactic Center

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 329-329
Author(s):  
Michiko Fujii ◽  
Masaki Iwasawa ◽  
Yoko Funato ◽  
Junichiro Makino
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Young Stars ◽  
Intermediate Mass ◽  
Self Consistent

AbstractWe performed a self-consistent N-body simulation of star clusters in the Galactic center (GC), taking into account the collisions of stars and formation of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). We find that if an IMBH forms in the cluster, it carries young stars to the GC by a 1:1 resonance.

scholarly journals The Influence of Gas Expulsion on the Evolution of Star Clusters

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S246) ◽  
pp. 36-40
Author(s):  
H. Baumgardt ◽  
P. Kroupa
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Dissolution Mechanism ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Cluster Systems

AbstractWe present new results on the dynamical evolution and dissolution of star clusters due to residual gas expulsion and the effect this has on the mass function and other properties of star cluster systems. To this end, we have carried out a large set of N-body simulations, varying the star formation efficiency, gas expulsion time scale and strength of the external tidal field, obtaining a three-dimensional grid of models which can be used to predict the evolution of individual star clusters or whole star cluster systems by interpolating between our runs. When applied to the Milky Way globular cluster system, we find that gas expulsion is the main dissolution mechanism for star clusters, destroying about 80% of all clusters within a few 10s of Myers. Together with later dynamical evolution, it seems possible to turn an initial power-law mass function into a log-normal one with properties similar to what has been observed for the Milky Way globular clusters.

scholarly journals MOCCA-SURVEY Database I: Dissolution of tidally filling star clusters harboring black hole subsystem

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S351) ◽  
pp. 438-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirek Giersz ◽  
Abbas Askar ◽  
Long Wang ◽  
Arkadiusz Hypki ◽  
Agostino Leveque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Star Clusters ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Star Cluster ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Dissolution Process ◽  
Dissolution Mechanism ◽  
Dynamical Equilibrium

AbstractWe investigate the dissolution process of star clusters embedded in an external tidal field and harboring a subsystem of stellar-mass black hole. For this purpose we analyzed the MOCCA models of real star clusters contained in the Mocca Survey Database I. We showed that the presence of a stellar-mass black hole subsystem in tidally filling star cluster can lead to abrupt cluster dissolution connected with the loss of cluster dynamical equilibrium. Such cluster dissolution can be regarded as a third type of cluster dissolution mechanism. We additionally argue that such a mechanism should also work for tidally under-filling clusters with a top-heavy initial mass function.

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