2,680 research outputs found
A Black Hole in the Galactic Center Complex IRS 13E?
The IRS 13E complex is an unusual concentration of massive, early-type stars
at a projected distance of ~0.13 pc from the Milky Way's central supermassive
black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Because of their similar proper motion and
their common nature as massive, young stars it has recently been suggested that
IRS 13E may be the remnant of a massive stellar cluster containing an
intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) that binds its members gravitationally in
the tidal field of Sgr A*. Here, we present an analysis of the proper motions
in the IRS~13E environment that combines the currently best available data with
a time line of 10 years. We find that an IMBH in IRS 13E must have a minimum
mass of ~10^4 solar masses in order to bind the source complex gravitationally.
This high mass limit in combination with the absence so far of compelling
evidence for a non-thermal radio and X-ray source in IRS 13E make it appear
unlikely that an IMBH exists in IRS 13E that is sufficiently massive to bind
the system gravitationally.Comment: accepted by AP
The instrumental polarization of the Nasmyth focus polarimetric differential imager NAOS/CONICA (NACO) at the VLT - Implications for time-resolved polarimetric measurements of Sgr A*
We report on the results of calibrating and simulating the instrumental
polarization properties of the ESO VLT adaptive optics camera system
NAOS/CONICA (NACO) in the Ks-band. We use the Stokes/Mueller formalism for
metallic reflections to describe the instrumental polarization. The model is
compared to standard-star observations and time-resolved observations of bright
sources in the Galactic center. We find the instrumental polarization to be
highly dependent on the pointing position of the telescope and about 4% at
maximum. We report a polarization angle offset of 13.28{\deg} due to a position
angle offset of the half-wave plate that affects the calibration of NACO data
taken before autumn 2009. With the new model of the instrumental polarization
of NACO it is possible to measure the polarization with an accuracy of 1% in
polarization degree. The uncertainty of the polarization angle is < 5{\deg} for
polarization degrees > 4%. For highly sampled polarimetric time series we find
that the improved understanding of the polarization properties gives results
that are fully consistent with the previously used method to derive the
polarization. The small difference between the derived and the previously
employed polarization calibration is well within the statistical uncertainties
of the measurements, and for Sgr A* they do not affect the results from our
relativistic modeling of the accretion process.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables, accepted by A&A on 2010 October 1
Reconstruction of Stellar Orbits Close to Sagittarius A*: Possibilities for Testing General Relativity
We have reconstructed possible orbits for a collection of stars located
within 0.5 arcsec of Sgr A*. These orbits are constrained by observed stellar
positions and angular proper motions. The construction of such orbits serves as
a baseline from which to search for possible deviations due to the unseen mass
distribution in the central 1000 AU of the Galaxy. We also discuss the
likelihood that some of these stars may eventually exhibit detectable
relativistic effects, allowing for interesting tests of general relativity
around the 2.6 x 10^6 solar mass central object.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures submitted to Astrophysical Journal, substantial
changes and additions based on referee's comment
Breaking of axial symmetry in excited heavy nuclei as identified in Giant Dipole Resonance data
A recent theoretical prediction of a breaking of axial symmetry in quasi all
heavy nuclei is confronted to a new critical analysis of photon strength
functions of nuclei in the valley of stability. For the photon strength in the
isovector giant dipole resonance (IVGDR) regime a parameterization of GDR
shapes by the sum of three Lorentzians (TLO) is extrapolated to energies below
and above the IVGDR. The impact of non-GDR modes adding to the low energy slope
of photon strength is discussed including recent data on photon scattering and
other radiative processes. These are shown to be concentrated in energy regions
where various model calculations predict intermediate collective strength; thus
they are obviously separate from the IVGDR tail. The triple Lorentzian (TLO)
ansatz for giant dipole resonances is normalized in accordance to the dipole
sum rule. The nuclear droplet model with surface dissipation accounts well for
positions and widths without local, nuclide specific, parameters. Very few and
only global parameters are needed when a breaking of axial symmetry already in
the valley of stability is admitted and hence a reliable prediction for
electric dipole strength functions also outside of it is expected.Comment: 21 pages, 21 figures, PACS: 26.50.+x, 25.20.Dc,27.60.+j Accepted by
Europ. Phys. Journal
Impact of Triaxiality on the Emission and Absorption of Neutrons and Gamma Rays in Heavy Nuclei
For many spin-0 target nuclei neutron capture measurements yield information
on level densities at the neutron separation energy. Also the average photon
width has been determined from capture data as well as Maxwellian average cross
sections for the energy range of unresolved resonances. Thus it is challenging
to use this data set for a test of phenomenological prescriptions for the
prediction of radiative processes. An important ingredient for respective
calculations is the photon strength function for which a parameterization was
proposed using a fit to giant dipole resonance shapes on the basis of
theoretically determined ground state deformations including triaxiality.
Deviations from spherical and axial symmetry also influence level densities and
it is suggested to use a combined parameterization for both, level density and
photon strength. The formulae presented give a good description of the data for
low spin capture into 124 nuclei with 72<A<244 and only very few global
parameters have to be adjusted when the predetermined information on ground
state shapes of the nuclei involved is accounted for.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of Scientific Workshop on Nuclear
Fission Theory-2, November 2012 at Biarritz, Franc
Importance of nuclear triaxiality for electromagnetic strength, level density and neutron capture cross sections in heavy nuclei
Cross sections for neutron capture in the range of unresolved resonances are
predicted simultaneously to level distances at the neutron threshold for more
than 100 spin-0 target nuclei with A >70. Assuming triaxiality in nearly all
these nuclei a combined parameterization for both, level density and photon
strength is presented. The strength functions used are based on a global fit to
IVGDR shapes by the sum of three Lorentzians adding up to the TRK sum rule and
theory-based predictions for the A-dependence of pole energies and spreading
widths. For the small spins reached by capture level densities are well
described by only one free global parameter; a significant collective
enhancement due to the deviation from axial symmetry is observed. Reliable
predictions for compound nuclear reactions also outside the valley of stability
as expected from the derived global parameterization are important for nuclear
astrophysics and for the transmutation of nuclear waste.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of the ERINDA workshop held at CERN
in October 2013 with modification
Peering through the veil: near-infrared photometry and extinction for the Galactic nuclear star cluster
The aims of this work are to provide accurate photometry in multiple
near-infrared broadband filters, to determine the power-law index of the
extinction-law toward the central parsec of the Galaxy, to provide measurements
of the absolute extinction toward the Galactic center, and finally to measure
the spatial variability of extinction on arcsecond scales.We use adaptive
optics observations of the central parsec of the Milky Way. Absolute values for
the extinction in the H, Ks, and L'-bands as well as of the power-law indices
of the H to Ks and Ks to L' extinction-laws are measured based on the
well-known properties of red clump stars. Extinction maps are derived based on
H-Ks and Ks-L' colors. We present Ks-band photometry for ~7700 stars (H and L'
photometry for a subset). From a number of recently published values we compute
a mean distance of the Galactic center of R_0=8.03+-0.15 kpc, which has an
uncertainty of just 2%. Based on this R_0 and on the RC method, we derive
absolute mean extinction values toward the central parsec of the Galaxy of
A_H=4.48+-0.13 mag, A_Ks=2.54+-0.12$ mag, and A_L'=1.27+-0.18 mag. We estimate
values of the power-law indices of the extinction-law of
alpha_{H-Ks}=2.21+-0.24 and alpha_{Ks-L'}=1.34+-0.29. A Ks-band extinction map
for the Galactic center is computed based on this extinction law and on stellar
H-Ks colors. Mean extinction values in a circular region with 0.5" radius
centered on Sagittarius A* are A_{H, SgrA*}=4.35+-0.12, A_{Ks,
SgrA*}=2.46+-0.03, and A_{L', SgrA*}=1.23+-0.08.Comment: accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics; please contact
RS for higher quality figure
Sgr A* ``Visual Binaries'': A Direct Measurement of the Galactocentric Distance
We present a new geometrical method for measuring the distance to the
Galactic center (R_0) by solving for the Keplerian orbit of individual stars
bound to the black hole associated with the Sgr A* from radial velocity and
proper motion measurements. We identify three stars to which the method may be
applied, and show that 1-5 % accuracy of R_0 can be expected after 15 years of
observing, and 0.5-2 % after 30 years of observing, depending on what the
orbital parameters of these three stars turn out to be. Combining the
measurements of the three stars with favorable orbital parameters leads to even
more precise values. In the example that we present, such combined solution
yields 4 % accuracy already by the year 2002. All these estimates assume that
annual position measurements will continue to be made with the 2 mas precision
recently reported by Ghez et al. The precision of the distance measurement is
relatively insensitive to the radial velocity errors, provided that the latter
are less than 50 km/s. Besides potentially giving an estimate of R_0 that is
better than any currently in use, the greatest advantage of this method is that
it is free from systematic errors.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 14 pages, 8 figure
The need for a second black hole at the Galactic center
Deep infra-red observations and long-term monitoring programs have provided
dynamical evidence for a supermassive black hole of mass 3.e6 solar masses
associated with the radio source Sagitarrius A* at the center of our Galaxy.
The brightest stars orbiting within 0.1 parsecs of the black hole appear to be
young, massive main sequence stars, n spite of an environment near the black
hole that is hostile to star formation. We discuss mechanisms by which stars
born outside the central parsec can sink towards the black hole and conclude
that the drag coming from plausible stellar populations does not operate on the
short timescales required by the stellar ages. We propose that these stars were
dragged in by a second black hole of mass of 1.e3-1.e4 solar masses, which
would be classified as an intermediate-mass black hole. We discuss the
implications for the stellar populations and the kinematics in the Galactic
center. Finally we note that continued astrometric monitoring of the central
radio source offers the prospect for a direct detection of such objects.Comment: 5 pages, 2 postscript figures, submitted to ApJ letters The
introduction section has been updated since submission to Ap
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