The stars of the Galactic center
Författare
Summary, in English
We consider the origin of the so-called S stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the very center of the Galaxy. These are usually assumed to be massive main-sequence stars. We argue instead that they are the remnants of low-to-intermediate mass red giants that have been scattered into near-radial orbits and tidally stripped as they approach the central black hole. Such stars retain only low-mass envelopes and thus have high effective temperatures. Our picture simultaneously explains why S stars have tightly bound orbits and the observed depletion of red giants in the very center of the Galaxy.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2005
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
25-27
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Astrophysical Journal
Volym
624
Issue
Part 2
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
American Astronomical Society
Ämne
- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Nyckelord
- Galaxy : center
- Galaxy : kinematics and dynamics
- Galaxy : nucleus
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0004-637X