OH/IR stars within 50 parsecs of the galactic center.
Abstract
A search for OH/IR stars close to the Galactic center has been initiated using the VLA at 18 cm. Thirty-three stars were found in a 34 x 34 arcmin field centered on Sgr A West. The strong concentration toward the galactic plane and the bulk rotation around the nucleus reported by Habing et al. in 1983 in a 2 deg field around the Galactic center are confirmed, but the random motion with a dispersion of 60 km/s in the radial direction is less than half the value found by them. The circumstellar shell expansion velocities are higher than found at larger distances from the Galactic center, suggesting a relatively more massive population of stars near the nucleus or a more efficient conversion of radiation pressure to bulk motion of the circumstellar gas. The OH/IR stars are strongly concentrated toward the continuum source Sgr A West, suggesting a pronounced increase in the density of stars toward the Galactic center.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 1985
- DOI:
- 10.1086/184456
- Bibcode:
- 1985ApJ...291L..45W
- Keywords:
-
- Galactic Nuclei;
- Hydroxyl Emission;
- Infrared Stars;
- Interstellar Masers;
- Milky Way Galaxy;
- Star Distribution;
- Gas Expansion;
- Radial Velocity;
- Stellar Envelopes;
- Astrophysics