Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T19:19:23.896Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Manifestations of a Massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2016

E.S. Phinney
E.S. Phinney*
Affiliation:
Theoretical Astrophysics 130–33 Caltech Pasadena, CA 91125 U.S.A.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A young star cluster is a less contrived explanation than a massive black hole for many of the features seen in the Galactic center. However from a Copernican point of view, this explanation is less attractive than a black hole. The evidence for a ~ 106M⊙ black hole is becoming progressively less convincing, but the case against it is no stronger. We describe the development of a singular star cluster, as well as the processes of stellar disruption, merging, and gas accretion in such a cluster. Recently merged stars and tidally stripped giants may be detectable within an arcminute of the Galactic Center. We examine the physics of star formation in the inner parsecs of the galaxy, and the problem of maintaining the two parsec molecular torus.

Type
Considerations of a Massive Black Hole
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 136: The Galactic Center , 1989 , pp. 543 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1989 

References

AIP 155: The Galactic Center , ed. Backer, D.C. (Am. Inst. Phys. Conf. Proc. No. 155, AIP, N.Y.) Google Scholar
Allen, D.A. 1987, AIP 155, 1.Google Scholar
Backer, D.C., and Sramek, R.A. 1987, AIP 155, 163.Google Scholar
Bahcall, J.N., and Wolf, R.A. 1976, Ap. J. , 209, 214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, M.E., 1980, M. N. R. A. S. , 190, 217.Google Scholar
Becklin, E.E., and Neugebauer, G. 1968, Ap. J. , 151, 145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begelman, M.C., and Rees, M.J. 1978, M. N. R. A. S. , 185, 847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begelman, M.C., Sikora, M., and Rees, M.J. 1987, Ap. J. , 313, 689.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohn, H. 1980, Ap. J. , 242, 765.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colgate, S.A., 1967, Ap. J. , 150, 163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dressler, A., and Richstone, D. 1988, Ap. J. , 324, 701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelke, C.W., 1988, Ap. J. , 325, 153.Google Scholar
Forrest, W.J., Shure, M.A., Pipher, J.L., and Woodward, C.E. 1987, AIP 155, 153.Google Scholar
Gatley, I. 1987, AIP 155, 8.Google Scholar
Geballe, T.R., Wade, R., Krisciunas, K., Gatley, I., and Bird, M.C. 1987, Ap. J. , 320, 562.Google Scholar
Genzel, R., and Townes, C.H. 1987, Ann. Rev. Astr. Ap. , 25, 377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Güsten, R. 1987, AIP 155, 19.Google Scholar
Hills, J.G., 1988, Nature , 331, 687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inagaki, S., and Lynden-Bell, D. 1983, M. N. R. A. S. , 205, 913.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inagaki, S., and Saslaw, W.C. 1985, Ap. J. , 292, 339.Google Scholar
Jauncey, D.L. et al. 1988, JPL astrophysics preprint 155.Google Scholar
Kawai, N. et al. 1988, Ap. J. , 330, 130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keel, W.C. 1985, in Astrophysics of Active Galaxies , ed. Miller, J.S. (University Science Books, Mill Valley), 1.Google Scholar
Kormendy, J. 1988a, Ap. J. , 325, 128.Google Scholar
Kormendy, J. 1988b, Ap. J., 335, 40.Google Scholar
KluźAniak, W., Ruderman, M., Shaham, J., and Tavani, M. 1988, Nature , 336, 558.Google Scholar
Krolik, J.H., and Begelman, M.C., 1988, Ap. J. , 329, 702.Google Scholar
Lacy, J.H., Townes, C.H., and Hollenbach, D.J. 1982, Ap. J. , 262, 120.Google Scholar
Lebofsky, M.J., and Rieke, G.H. 1987, AIP 155, 79.Google Scholar
Lee, H.M., and Nelson, L.A. 1988, Ap. J. , 334, 688.Google Scholar
Lightman, A.P., Zdziarski, A.A., and Rees, M.J. 1987, Ap. J. , 315, L113.Google Scholar
Lingenfelter, R.E., and Ramaty, R. 1983, in Positron-Electron Pairs in Astrophysics , eds. Burns, M. L., Harding, A. K., Ramaty, R. (AIP Conf. Proc. No. 101, AIP, N.Y.), 267.Google Scholar
McGinn, M.T., Sellgren, K., Becklin, E.E., and Hall, D.N.B. 1988 preprint.Google Scholar
Murphy, B.W., and Cohn, H.N. 1988, M. N. R. A. S. , 232, 835.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phinney, E.S. 1983, Ph. D. thesis, Cambridge University.Google Scholar
Ramaty, R., and Lingenfelter, R.E. 1987, AIP 155, 51.Google Scholar
Rees, M.J., Begelman, M.C., Blandford, R.D., and Phinney, E.S. 1982, Nature , 295, 17.Google Scholar
Rees, M.J. 1987, AIP 155, 71.Google Scholar
Rees, M.J. 1988, Nature , 333, 523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renzini, A., and Buzzoni, A. 1986, in Spectral Evolution of Galaxies , eds. Chiosi, C. & Renzini, A., (Dordrecht, Reidel), 195.Google Scholar
Reynolds, S.P., and McKee, C.F. 1980, Ap. J. , 239, 893.Google Scholar
Rieke, G.H., and Rieke, M.J. 1988, Ap. J. , 330, L33.Google Scholar
Sanders, R.H. 1970, Ap. J. , 162, 791.Google Scholar
Serabyn, E., and Lacy, J.H., 1985, Ap. J. , 293, 445.Google Scholar
Share, G.H. et al. 1988, Ap. J. , 326, 717.Google Scholar
Skinner, G.K. et al. 1987, Nature , 330, 544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tonry, J. 1987, Ap. J. , 322, 632.Google Scholar
Vanden Berg, D.A., and Laskarides, P.G. 1987, Ap. J. Suppl. , 64, 103.Google Scholar
Wade, R., Geballe, T.R., Krisciunas, K., Gatley, I., and Bird, M.C. 1987, Ap. J. , 320, 570.Google Scholar