The neutral-gas disk around the galactic center
Abstract
Detailed far-infrared observations of several atomic and ionic fine-structure lines and molecular rotational lines toward the galactic center are discussed. There is an extensive (≥5 pc radius) neutral gas and dust disk of mass ≥104M_sun; surrounding the inner, ionized 2 pc of the Galaxy. This disk is seen almost edge-on and is tilted ≡20° relative to the galactic plane. The bright C+ and O0 far-infrared lines and the far-infrared continuum radiation predominantly arise in a photodissociation region between the inner edge of the disk and cooler molecular gas at R ⪆ 4 pc. This photodissociation region is excited by the intense UV radiation from the galactic center. The authors also report the detection of rotational emission lines of highly excited CO and OH molecules. The far-infrared CO emission may come from a small column density of hotter gas excited by shock waves. The dominant motion of the neutral gas disk is rotation about an axis similar to the rotation axis of the Galaxy. The rotation velocity at a radius of 2 pc, corrected for inclination, corresponds to an enclosed mass of (4.8±1)×106M_sun;. The dynamics of interstellar clouds in the galactic center as determined by the nuclear mass distribution is examined.
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The CND has a total mass of 10^5-6 M⊙ and hosts several clumps with densities of ~10^6-8 cm^-3 and gas temperatures of ~50 K.
“The CND has a total mass of 10 5 -6 M ⊙ and hosts several clumps with densities of ∼ 10 6 -8 cm -3 and gas temperatures of ∼ 50 K (Becklin et al. 1982; Brown & Liszt 1984; Genzel et al. 1985; Serabyn et al. 1986; Genzel et al. 2010; Hsieh et al. 2021).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Genzel et al. 1985
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The Galactic Center massive black hole and nuclear star cluster
Genzel, R., Eisenhauer, F., & Gillessen, S. (2010) · Reviews of Modern Physics · doi:10.1103/revmodphys.82.3121 · Cited by 1,236 · see citing works
Self-citationPhotodissociation regions in the interstellar medium of galaxies
Hollenbach, D. J., & Tielens, A. G. G. M. (1999) · Reviews of Modern Physics · doi:10.1103/revmodphys.71.173 · Cited by 801 · see citing works
Dense Photodissociation Regions (PDRs)
Hollenbach, D., & Tielens, A. (1997) · Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.35.1.179 · Cited by 400 · see citing works
Miller, M. C., & Colbert, E. J. M. (2004) · International Journal of Modern Physics D · doi:10.1142/s0218271804004426 · Cited by 449 · see citing works
“…Galaxy (e.g., Eckart & Genzel 1996; Ghez et al. 1998; Ghez et al. 2000; Eckart et al. 2002; Schödel et al. 2002; Ghez et al. 2003a,b), following up earlier observations of gas motion in the Galactic center that suggested a strong concentration of mass (e.g., Lacy et al. 1980; Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundObservations of stellar proper motions near the Galactic Centre
Eckart, A., & Genzel, R. (1996) · Nature · doi:10.1038/383415a0 · Cited by 433 · see citing works
Self-citationStellar processes near the massive black hole in the Galactic center
Alexander, T. (2005) · Physics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2005.08.002 · Cited by 302 · see citing works
Massive Perturber–driven Interactions between Stars and a Massive Black Hole
Perets, H. B., Hopman, C., & Tal Alexander, A. (2007) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/510377 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
“5− 3 ~25 102 − 105 1.1− 1.7 (10, 0.65) 3.7 × 103 − 4.1×104 0.25 Genzel et al. (1985); Christopher et al. (2005) aProjected distance range enclosing observed MPs. TABLE 2 MASSIVE PERTURBERS MODELS Model r (pc)a Np b Mp (M⊙) β µ, σ Rp (pc) µ2 c GMC1 5–100 100 105−5× 107 1.2 – 5 2×108 1.5–5 30 3×…”
BackgroundInfluentialHCN and HCO<sup>+</sup>Observations of the Galactic Circumnuclear Disk
Christopher, M. H., Scoville, N. Z., Stolovy, S. R., & Yun, M. S. (2005) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/427911 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
“The western arc has been suggested as the inner edge of the CND, ionized by the strong UV radiation field of the stars in the central cluster (Lo & Claussen 1983; Genzel et al. 1985; Serabyn & Lacy 1985; Guesten et al. 1987).”
BackgroundInfluentialRiechers, D. A., Carilli, C. L., Capak, P., et al. (2014) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/796/2/84 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
“…of the J=3/2→1/2 transition consists of an unresolved F triplet of transitions due to hyperfine structure splitting of the levels (see, e.g., Genzel et al. 1985; Cesaroni & Walmsley 1991). in narrower frequency bins (see figure captions).15 This sensitivity level is consistent with…”
BackgroundGenzel, R., Hollenbach, D., & Townes, C. H. (1994) · Reports on Progress in Physics · doi:10.1088/0034-4885/57/5/001 · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Self-citationStellar and wind properties of massive stars in the central parsec of the Galaxy
Martins, F., Genzel, R., Hillier, D. J., Eisenhauer, F., Paumard, T., Gillessen, S., Ott, T., & Trippe, S. (2007) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20066688 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Self-citationOka, T. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0601242103 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Herschel/PACS spectroscopy of NGC 4418 and Arp 220: H2O, H218O, OH,18OH, O I, HCN, and NH3
Gonzalez-Alfonso, E., Fischer, J., Graciá-Carpio, J., et al. (2012) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201118029 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
“…the continuum, the Π1/2 3/2 → 1/2 doublet at 163 μm, is excited through absorption of continuum photons in the 35 and 53.3 μm doublets followed by a cascade down to the ground OH state (see Appendix II by Genzel et al. 1985), and is therefore expected to arise in the Cextended component (G-A04).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationHubble Space Telescope Paα and 1.9 Micron Imaging of Sagittarius A West
Scoville, N. Z., Stolovy, S. R., Rieke, M. J., Christopher, M. H., & Yusef‐Zadeh, F. (2003) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/376790 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
“At a projected radius of approximately 2 pc from Sgr A* lies the circumnuclear disk/ring (CND) of dense molecular gas and dust clouds (Genzel et al. 1985; Güsten et al. 1987), and within this ring, ionized gas streams extend down to a few arcseconds from Sgr A* (Lo & Claussen 1983; Lacy,…”
BackgroundISOLWS Spectroscopy of M82: A Unified Evolutionary Model
Colbert, J., Malkan, M. A., Clegg, P. E., et al. (1999) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/306711 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
“These are the transitions from the OH ground state of 2π3/2 J=3/2 to the next highest energy state, 2π3/2 J=5/2, which have been seen before in emission in the KL nebula (Storey, Watson & Townes 1981) and in absorption toward the galactic center (Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundThe Far‐Infrared Spectrum of Arp 220
Gonzalez-Alfonso, E., Smith, H. A., Fischer, J., et al. (2004) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/422868 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
“In fact, Goicoechea & Cernicharo (2002) have found an abundance of 2 ; 10 6 in Sgr B2, and it could be as high as 5 ; 10 6 around the galactic center (Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundGAS INFALL TOWARD Sgr A* FROM THE CLUMPY CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK
Montero-Castaño, M., Herrnstein, R. M., & Ho, P. T. P. (2009) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/695/2/1477 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
SIMULATIONS OF THE ORIGIN AND FATE OF THE GALACTIC CENTER CLOUD G2
Schartmann, M., Burkert, A. M., Alig, C., Gillessen, S., Genzel, R., Eisenhauer, F., & Fritz, T. K. (2012) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/755/2/155 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
“…1971; Downes & Martin 1971; Ekers et al. 1983; YusefZadeh & Wardle 1993; Zhao et al. 2009), a molecular dusty ring ranging from 2 pc to 5 pc (Genzel et al. 1985; schartmann@mpe.mpg.de 1 Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Scheinerstraße 1, D-81679 München, Germany 2 Max-Planck-Institut für…”
BackgroundSelf-citationGallimore, J. F., Baum, S. A., O’Dea, C. P., et al. (1999) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/307853 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
“In contrast all of the Galactic values have been corrected for directly measured spin temperatures (for the Galactic Center column we assumed TS ≈ TK ∼ 300 K in the 10 pc diameter disk after Genzel et al. 1985 and references therein).”
THE NUCLEAR CLUSTER OF THE MILKY WAY: TOTAL MASS AND LUMINOSITY*
Fritz, T. K., Chatzopoulos, S., Gerhard, O., Gillessen, S., Genzel, R., Pfuhl, O., Tacchella, S., Eisenhauer, F., & Ott, T. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/0004-637x/821/1/44 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
“The projected rotation velocity of the inner CND of 100 km s−1 is well determined (Genzel et al. 1985; Serabyn & Lacy 1985; Guesten et al. 1987; Jackson et al. 1993; Christopher et al. 2005), and hence the reason for the discrepancy has to be in the model assumed.”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationIN SITU FORMATION OF SgrA* STARS VIA DISK FRAGMENTATION: PARENT CLOUD PROPERTIES AND THERMODYNAMICS
Mapelli, M., Hayfield, T., Mayer, L., & Wadsley, J. W. (2012) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/749/2/168 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“The circumnuclear ring of dense molecular gas lies at a projected distance of 2− 7 pc from the GC (e.g., Genzel et al. 1985; Güsten et al. 1987; Scoville et al. 2003; Christopher et al. 2005) and 2 Mapelli et al. is on the verge of forming stars (Yusef-Zadeh et a. 2008; 2011).”
BackgroundTraces of Past Activity in the Galactic Centre
Ponti, G., Morris, M. R., Terrier, R., & Goldwurm, A. (2013) · Astrophysics and space science proceedings · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-35410-6_26 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
“…a concentration (with total m ss of∼ 105−6 M⊙) of dense and warm molecular and atomic gas (the so called CircumNuclear Disc, CND, Becklin et al. 1982; Genzel et al. 1985; Gusten et al. 1987; Christopher et al. 2005; Montero-Castano et al. 2009; Oka et al. 2011; Martin et al. 2012; Requena-Torres…”
BackgroundDETECTION OF WIDESPREAD HOT AMMONIA IN THE GALACTIC CENTER
Mills, E. A. C., & Morris, M. R. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/772/2/105 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
“The Circumnuclear disk / Southern streamer The Circumnuclear disk (CND) is a ring of gas and dust surrounding the central supermassive black hole at a radius of 1.5 pc (Becklin et al. 1982; Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundInfluentialTHE EXCITATION OF HCN AND HCO+ IN THE GALACTIC CENTER CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK
Mills, E., Güsten, R., Requena-Torres, M., & Morris, M. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/779/1/47 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“…et al. and Montero-Castaño et al. also estimate a total mass for the CND (∼ 106 M⊙), by assuming virialization, which greatly exceeds previous mass estimates of a few ×104 M⊙, based on CO excitation and dust emission (Harris et al. 1985; Genzel et al. 1985; Lugten et al. 1987; Mezger et al. 1989).”
BackgroundMolecular Tracers of the Central 12 Parsecs of the Galactic Center
Wright, M. C. H., Coil, A. L., McGary, R. S., Ho, P. T. P., & Harris, A. I. (2001) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/320089 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
A magnetic torsional wave near the Galactic Centre traced by a ‘double helix’ nebula
Morris, M., Uchida, K. I., & Do, T. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04554 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
A NEW LOOK AT THE GALACTIC CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK
Oka, T., Nagai, M., Kamegai, K., & Tanaka, K. (2011) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/732/2/120 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
GREAT confirms transient nature of the circum-nuclear disk
Requena-Torres, M. A., Güsten, R., Weiß, A., Harris, A. I., Martín-Pintado, J., Stutzki, J., Klein, B., Heyminck, S., & Risacher, C. (2012) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219068 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
“We derive a mass of the inner CND of 1.2 104 M⊙ - this is very comparable to the mass obtained by Genzel et al. (1985) and, more recently, by Etxaluze et al. (2011), but much lower than results based on dense gas tracers (see discussion).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialInterstellar gas within ~10 pc of Sagittarius A∗
Ferrière, K. (2012) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117181 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
“Lastly, we take the plane of the CNR to lie at inclination 70◦ to the plane of the sky (Genzel et al. 1985; Jackson et al. 1993) and to intersect the latter at position angle 25◦ east of north (Jackson et al. 1993), i.e., somewhat less than the position angle 31.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSchartmann, M., Burkert, A. M., Krause, M., Camenzind, M., Meisenheimer, K., & Davies, R. (2010) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16250.x · Cited by 62 · see citing works
“Furthermore, a highly inclined thin, and clumpy ring or nuclear disc with a molecular mass of 1.3 · 106 M (Montero-Castaño et al. 2009) has been found in our own galactic centre in a distance ranging from approximately 2 to 5 pc (Genzel et al. 1985; Guesten et al. 1987).”
BackgroundInfluentialA molecular gas streamer feeding the Galactic Centre
Ho, P. T. P., Ho, L. C., Szczepanski, J. C., Jackson, J. M., Armstrong, J. T., & Barrett, A. H. (1991) · Nature · doi:10.1038/350309a0 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Goicoechea, J. R., Etxaluze, M., Cernicharo, J., Gérin, M., Neufeld, D. A., Contursi, A., Bell, T. A., Luca, M. D., Encrenaz, P., Indriolo, N., et al. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/769/1/l13 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
“We adopt N(CO)=χ(CO)×N(H2)=1018 cm−2 (Genzel et al. 1985), i.e., we assume a CO abundance of '10−4 and take, from photometric measurements, N(H2)'1022 cm−2 (AV∼10) in the central cavity (Etxaluze et al. 2011).”
BackgroundMethodGREAT confirms transient nature of the circum-nuclear disk
Requena─Torres, M. A., Güsten, R., Weiß, A., Harris, A. I., Martín-Pintado, J., STUTZKI, J., Klein, B., Heyminck, S., & Risacher, C. (2012) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219068/pdf · Cited by 62 · see citing works
SOFIA/FORCAST IMAGING OF THE CIRCUMNUCLEAR RING AT THE GALACTIC CENTER
Lau, R. M., Herter, T. L., Morris, M. R., Becklin, E. E., & Adams, J. D. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/775/1/37 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
“As in many gas-rich spiral galaxies, our Galaxy has an orbiting torus of warm, dense gas circling the central, supermassive black hole: the Circumnuclear Disk (CND) (Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundMcGary, R. S., Coil, A. L., & Ho, P. T. P. (2001) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/322390 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
“…of molecular material at a radius of 2 pc from the Galactic Center surrounds the mini-spiral and is referred to as the circumnuclear disk (CND) (Genzel et al. 1985; Harris et al. 1985; Serabyn et al. 1986; Gatley et al. 1986; Güsten et al. 1987; Sutton et al. 1990; Marr, Wright , & Backer…”
BackgroundBradford, C. M., Stacey, G. J., Nikola, T., Bolatto, A. D., Jackson, J. M., Savage, M. L., & Davidson, J. A. (2005) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/428659 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“A plausible scenario is that the molecular and atomic gas are physically associated and coexist as different phases in the same morphological structures (e.g. clumps in the ring), as has been proposed by Genzel et al. (1985) and J93.”
BackgroundInfalling Gas toward the Galactic Center
Coil, A. L., & Ho, P. T. P. (1999) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/306875 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The Galactic Center: An Interacting System of Unusual Sources
Yusef-Zadeh, F., Melia, F., & Wardle, M. (2000) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.287.5450.85 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
The Galactic Center: Is It a Massive Black Hole?
Lo, K. Y. (1986) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.233.4771.1394 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
SOFIA/FORCAST Imaging of the Circumnuclear Ring at the Galactic CenterPreprint
Lau, R. M., Herter, T., Morris, M., Becklin, E. E., & Adams, J. D. (2014) · Cited by 50 · see citing works
The nuclear cluster of the Milky Way: total mass and luminosity
Fritz, T. K., Chatzopoulos, S., Gerhard, O., Gillessen, S., Genzel, R., Pfuhl, O., Tacchella, S., Eisenhauer, F., & Ott, T. (2013) · reroDoc Digital Library · doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000422972 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Self-citationA Nonparametric Estimate of the Mass of the Central Black Hole in the Galaxy
Chakrabarty, D., & Saha, P. (2001) · The Astronomical Journal · doi:10.1086/321104 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“Lacy 1985 ; Genzel et al. 1985 ; et al. 1987).”
Mapping photodissociation and shocks in the vicinity of Sagittarius A∗
Amo-Baladrón, M. A., Martín-Pintado, J., & Martín, S. (2010) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913545 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“However, Güsten et al. (1987) derived significantly lower densities (∼105 cm−3) from their interferometric mapping of HCN, which are consistent with the densities estimated from warm atomic gas (Genzel et al. 1985) and CO multitransitional observations (Harris et al. 1985).”
ResultTraces of past activity in the galactic centre
Ponti, G., Morris, M., Terrier, R., & Goldwurm, A. (2013) · Max Planck Digital Library · Cited by 41 · see citing works
The Circumnuclear Disk Revealed by ALMA. I. Dense Clouds and Tides in the Galactic Center
Hsieh, P.-Y., Koch, P. M., Kim, W.-T., Martín, S., Yen, H.-W., Carpenter, J. M., Harada, N., Turner, J. L., Ho, P. T. P., Tang, Y.-W., et al. (2021) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abf4cd · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“It has been well recognized that the tidal shear from the central potential is quickly rising within the central 10 pc (Güsten & Downes 1980; Genzel et al. 1985; Jackson et al. 1993; Shukla et al. 2004; Christopher et al. 2005).”
BackgroundThe Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way
Sarkar, K. C. (2024) · The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review · doi:10.1007/s00159-024-00152-1 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“The CND has a total mass of 10 5 − 6 M ⊙ and hosts several clumps with densities of ∼ 10 6 − 8 cm − 3 and gas temperatures of ∼ 50 K (Becklin et al. 1982; Brown & Liszt 1984; Genzel et al. 1985; Serabyn et al. 1986; Genzel et al. 2010; Hsieh et al. 2021).”
BackgroundA cloudy model for the Circumnuclear Disk in the Galactic Centre
Vollmer, B., & Duschl, W. J. (2001) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20000425 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Dense, Ionized, and Neutral Gas Surrounding Sagittarius A*
Shukla, H., Yun, M. S., & Scoville, N. Z. (2004) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/424868 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“231 found evidence for neutral gas within this central ‘‘cavity’’ (Genzel et al. 1985; Jackson et al. 1993; Latvakoski et al. 1999; Herrnstein & Ho 2002), suggesting a more substantial presence of gas in the central parsec region.”
BackgroundInfluentialThe inner cavity of the circumnuclear disc
Blank, M., Morris, M., Frank, A., Carroll-Nellenback, J., & Duschl, W. J. (2016) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stw771 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“The mass of the CND has been variously estimated to be within a factor of a few of ∼ 104 M⊙, if one does not assume that the clumps are virialized (Genzel et al. 1985; Serabyn et al. 1986; Mezger et al. 1989).”
BackgroundInfluentialMagnetic field morphology and evolution in the Central Molecular Zone and its effect on gas dynamics
Treß, R. G., Sormani, M. C., Girichidis, P., Glover, S. C. O., Klessen, R. S., Smith, R. J., Sobacchi, E., Armillotta, L., Barnes, A. T., Battersby, C., et al. (2024) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450035 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
[O i ] 63 Micron Absorption in NGC 6334
Kraemer, K. E., Jackson, J. M., & Lane, A. P. (1998) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/306002 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Winnewisser, G. F., Herbst, E., & Ungerechts, H. (1992) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-580645-9.50010-1 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
The Episodic and Multiscale Galactic Centre
Bryant, A., & Krabbe, A. (2021) · New astronomy reviews (Print) · doi:10.1016/j.newar.2021.101630 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Infrared Spectroscopy of CO Ro-Vibrational Absorption Lines toward the Obscured AGN IRAS 08572+3915
Shirahata, M., Nakagawa, T., Usuda, T., et al. (2013) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan · doi:10.1093/pasj/65.1.5 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
“We interpret this component as arising in interstellar clouds in the host galaxy located far from the nucleus, since its excitation temperature is low and is similar to those of giant molecular clouds in the Galaxy.”
BackgroundInfluentialGenzel, R. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2362-1_53 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationPerturbations induced by a molecular cloud on the young stellar disc in the Galactic Centre
Mapelli, M., Gualandris, A., & Hayfield, T. (2013) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stt1858 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“A molecular torus, the circumnuclear ring (CNR; Genzel et al. 1985; Güsten et al. 1987; Yusef-Zadeh, Hewitt & Cotton 2004; Christopher et al. 2005; Oka et al. 2011) is located at ∼2 pc from Sgr A∗, and is on the verge of forming stars (Yusef-Zadeh et al. 2008).”
BackgroundHot molecular hydrogen in the central parsec of the Galaxy through near-infrared 3D fitting
Ciurlo, A., Paumard, T., Rouan, D., & Clénet, Y. (2016) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201527173 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“The values are very high with respect to previous measurements (400 K in Genzel et al. 1985; 200−300 K in Mills et al. 2015 in the CND).”
ResultHot Molecular Gas in the Circumnuclear Disk
Mills, E. A. C., Togi, A., & Kaufman, M. (2017) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa951f · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Surrounding both the black hole Sgr A* and a central nuclear star cluster (Lu et al. 2013), with an inner radius of 1–1.5 pc, is a molecular gas torus known as the circumnuclear disk (CND; e.g., Genzel et al. 1985; Güsten et al. 1987).”
BackgroundInfluentialPHYSICAL CONTACT BETWEEN THE +20 km s−1 CLOUD AND THE GALACTIC CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK
Takekawa, S., Oka, T., & Tanaka, K. (2017) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/121 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“The CND has an inner radius of ∼ 2 pc, is inclined ∼ 20◦ to the Galactic plane, and has a rotational velocity of ∼ 110 km s−1 (Genzel et al. 1985; Jackson et al. 1993).”
BackgroundDeficit of Far-Infrared [C [CSC]ii[/CSC]] Line Emission toward the Galactic Center
Nakagawa, T., Yasuo Doi, Yukari Yamashita Yui, et al. (1995) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/309810 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
A cloudy model for the Circumnuclear Disk in the Galactic Centre
Vollmer, B., & Duschl, W. J. (2001) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20000425/pdf · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Far-Infrared Spectroscopy and the Physics and Chemistry of Interstellar Clouds
Watson, D. M. (1985) · Physica Scripta · doi:10.1088/0031-8949/1985/t11/005 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationImaging the Hot Molecular Gas at the Centre of the Galaxy
Burton, M., & Allen, D. A. (1992) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia · doi:10.1017/s132335800001924x · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“The far{IR neutral gas lineluminosity, 5 104L (Genzel et al., 1985) is however 0:5% of the far{IR continuum luminosity (Becklin etal., 1982), a diagnostic ratio characteristic of far{UVilluminated molecular clouds, or photodissociation re-gions (PDRs, see Tielens and Hollenbach, 1985).”
BackgroundMelia, F., Yusef‐Zadeh, F., & Fatuzzo, M. (1998) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/306456 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“…the photodissociation regions in the CND require an incident dissociating flux (6 eV < hν < 13.6 eV) of 102–103 erg cm−2 s−1 (Wolfire, Tielens & Hollenbach, 1990), implying a total UV luminosity of about 2 × 107 L⊙, consistent with the radio continuum emission from Sgr A West (Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundInfluentialA Slowly Precessing Disk in the Nucleus of M31 as the Feeding Mechanism for a Central Starburst
Lockhart, K. E., Lu, J. R., Peiris, H. V., Rich, R. M., Bouchez, A. H., & Ghez, A. M. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaaa71 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Unlike the Milky Way, which hosts ≥104 M of cold gas and dust in the inner 5 pc (Genzel et al. 1985), M31 is relatively gas-poor in the central few kpc (Sofue & Yoshida 1993; Nieten et al. 2006) and the origin of the gas that formed the young nuclear star cluster is not yet known.”
BackgroundA Slowly Precessing Disk in the Nucleus of M31 as the Feeding Mechanism for a Central Starburst
Lockhart, K., Lu, Jr., Peiris, H. V., Rich, R., Bouchez, A., & Ghez, A. (2018) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The Galactic Center: A Petaelectronvolt Cosmic-ray Acceleration Factory
Guo, Y.-Q., Tian, Z., Wang, Z., Li, H.-J., & Chen, T.-L. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa5f58 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“At the central cavity (Jackson et al. 1993; Guesten et al. 1987), the gas density is larger enough for self-gravity to form clumpy structure to overcome the strong tidal shear of the black hole and this will make the VFF even smaller as ∼ 0.1% (Jackson et al. 1993; Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundInfluentialEffects of Turbulence in the Circumnuclear Disk
Dinh, C. K., Salas, J. M., Morris, M., & Naoz, S. (2021) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac185b · Cited by 13 · see citing works
STABILITY OF GAS CLOUDS IN GALACTIC NUCLEI: AN EXTENDED VIRIAL THEOREM
Chen, X., Amaro‐Seoane, P., & Cuadra, J. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/0004-637x/819/2/138 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Further inside, at a distance of 1 to 3 pc from Sgr A* (the SMBH, 8 kpc from Earth), there is the circum-nuclear disk (CND), which has been resolved into about 30 molecular clumps whose orbits are mostly circular (Genzel et al. 1985; Jackson et al. 1993; Marr et al. 1993; Marshall et al. 1995).”
BackgroundMILLIMETER-WAVE SPECTRAL LINE SURVEYS TOWARD THE GALACTIC CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK AND Sgr A*
Takekawa, S., Oka, T., Tanaka, K., Matsumura, S., Miura, K., & Sakai, D. (2014) · The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · doi:10.1088/0067-0049/214/1/2 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“The circumnuclear disk (CND), which is a dense, warm ring of molecular gas, encompasses the minispiral (e.g., Genzel et al. 1985; Güsten et al. 1987; Kaifu et al. 1987).”
BackgroundCollisions among Clouds inside Dusty Tori in Active Galactic Nuclei:Observational Consequences
Wang, J. (2004) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/425318 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Far-infrared spectroscopic observations of the Galactic center region
Yasuda, A., Nakagawa, T., Spaans, M., Okada, Y., & Kaneda, H. (2008) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078559 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Emission-line spectra and the nature of active galactic nuclei
Osterbrock, D. E. (2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/3-540-19492-4_159 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Continuum observations of Sgr A at mm/submm wavelengths
Mezger, P. G., Zylka, R., Salter, C. J., Wink, J. E., Chini, R., Kreysa, E., & Tuffs, R. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2362-1_46 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
FIFI-LS Observations of the Circumnuclear Ring— Probing the High-density Phase of the PDR
Iserlohe, C., Bryant, A., Krabbe, A., Beckmann, S., Colditz, S., Fischer, C., Fumi, F., Geis, N., Henning, T. K., Hönle, R., et al. (2019) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab391f · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Genzel, R. (1987) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/10057813_31 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationShocked Molecular Gas Near the Galactic Center
Szczepanski, J. C., Ho, P. T. P., Haschick, A. D., et al. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2362-1_51 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Genzel, R. (1989) · Symposium - International Astronomical Union · doi:10.1017/s0074180900186802 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationImproving black hole accretion treatment in hydrodynamical simulations
Tartėnas, M., & Zubovas, K. (2022) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stac2330 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Akshaya, M. S., & Hoang, T. (2023) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1246 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Properties of the Photodissociated Gas in NGC 6334
Kraemer, K. E., Jackson, J. M., Lane, A. P., et al. (2000) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/317015 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“These intensities tend to be fainter than those found in othermassive star forming regions su h as M42 (Sta ey et al. 1993) or M17SW (Meixner et al.1992), but are omparable to values at the Gala ti enter (Genzel et al. 1985).”
BackgroundWinnewisser, G. F. (1996) · Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry · doi:10.1007/s0021663550571 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Sato, K., Shinnaga, H., Furuya, R. S., Suzuki, T. K., Kakiuchi, K., & Ott, J. (2024) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan · doi:10.1093/pasj/psae062 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Molecular Clouds in Regions of Massive Star Formation
Genzel, R. (1991) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-0695-2_5 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationMelnick, G. J. (1988) · International Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves · doi:10.1007/bf01010660 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Hat Creek HCO+ and HCN Observations of SgrA
Wright, M. C. H., Marr, J. M., & Backer, D. C. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2362-1_54 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Selected Chapters on Active Galactic Nuclei as Relativistic SystemsPreprint
Karas, V., Svoboda, J., & Zajaček, M. (2019) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1901.06507 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“e captures the clumpy Circum-Nuclear Disc (CND), which is mostly composed of warm (˘100K) neutral and molecular gas of the total mass of M CND ˇ 105 M and the number densities of n CND ˇ104 107 cm 3 (Genzel et al., 1985; Serabyn and Guesten, 1986; Guesten et al., 1987; Mezger et al., 1989; Christopher 21 Figure 6: An…”
BackgroundThe ISM and Stellar Distributions Near Sgr A*
Scoville, N. Z., Stolovy, S. R., & Christopher, M. H. (2003) · Astronomische Nachrichten · doi:10.1002/asna.200385089 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Serabyn, E. (1987) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-3927-1_5 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Yusef-Zadeh, F., Wardle, M., & Roberts, D. A. (1996) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/309912 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Fridman, A. M., Khoruzhii, O. V., Lyakhovich, V. V., et al. (1996) · Lecture notes in physics · doi:10.1007/bfb0101979 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Nonthermal Pressures: Key to Energy Balance and Structure Formation near Sgr A* in the Milky Way
Mazoochi, F., Tabatabaei, F. S., Barnes, A. T., Colzi, L., García, P., Henkel, C., Hu, Y., Longmore, S. N., Martín, S., Sánchez-Monge, Á., et al. (2026) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae1b93 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“The neutral gas in the disk has densities of ∼ 10 5 cm − 3 , and the total hydrogen mass is ∼ 10 4 M ⊙ with a temperature of a few 100 K (Genzel et al. 1985; Mezger et al. 1996).”
InfluentialA Recent Supermassive Black Hole Binary in the Galactic Center Unveiled by the Hypervelocity Stars
Cao, C., Liu, F. K., Li, S., Chen, X., & Wang, K. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/adbbf2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“In this scenario, young stars of the NSC are born in a gaseous disk that is similar to the circumnuclear disk observed in the GC ( E. E. Becklin et al. 1982; R. Genzel et al. 1985; R. Guesten et al. 1987; J. M. Jackson et al. 1993 ) and form a stellar disk.”
The central Parsec of the Milky Way: Star formation and central dark mass
Genzel, R. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/bfb0101977 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationSymmetrical Structures in the Galactic Centre Region
Seiradakis, J. H., Reich, W., & Sofue, Y. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2362-1_31 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Radio Recombination Line Imaging of Sgr A
Goss, W. M., van Gorkom, J. H., Roberts, D. A., et al. (1990) · Astrophysics and space science library · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-0625-9_24 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Continuum Observations of Sgr A at mm/submm Wavelengths
Mezger, P. G., Zylka, R., Salter, C. J., et al. (1989) · Symposium - International Astronomical Union · doi:10.1017/s0074180900186735 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Luminosity of the Central Parsec of the Galaxy
Werner, M. W., & Davidson, J. A. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2362-1_58 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
ALMA [C I ] Image of the Circumnuclear Disk of the Milky Way: Inflowing Low-density Molecular Gas
Tanaka, K., Nagai, M., & Kamegai, K. (2026) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae3aa5 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…et al. 2018), along with the spatial and velocity continuity of molecular and hydrogen recombination lines at their interfaces (Lo & Claussen 1983; Genzel et al. 1985; Serabyn & Lacy 1985; Guesten et al. 1987; Christopher et al. 2005; Tsuboi et al. 2018), suggest a physical continuity between the…”
Shocked Molecular Gas Near the Galactic Center
Szczepanski, J. C., Ho, P. T. P., Haschick, A. D., et al. (1989) · Symposium - International Astronomical Union · doi:10.1017/s0074180900186784 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Genzel, R., Crawford, M. K., Townes, C. H., & Watson, D. M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Venue
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Publisher
- American Astronomical Society
- Published
- 1985-10
- Volume
- 297
- Pages
- 766
- ISSN
- 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
- 1538-4357
- OpenAlex
- W1968685979
- Cited by
- 123
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Astrophysical Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Keywords
- Galactic Center, interstellar dust, photodissociation regions, fine-structure lines, shock excitation, enclosed mass, far-infrared continuum, ultraviolet radiation
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