CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 326Astrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsStellar, planetary, and galactic studiesGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena

The Dark Mass Concentration in the Central Parsec of the Milky Way

Open access
Genzel, R., Thatte, N., Krabbe, A., Kroker, H., Tacconi‐Garman, L. E.·1996·The Astrophysical Journal
DOI 10.1086/178051
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

We report ∼1'' resolution K-band (2 μm) imaging spectroscopy of the central parsec of our Galaxy. The derived radial velocities for 223 early- and late-type stars probe the nuclear mass distribution to spatial scales of 0.1 pc. We find a statistically very significant increase of projected stellar velocity dispersion from about 55 km s −1 at p ∼ 5 pc to 180 km s −1 at p ∼ 0.1 pc. The stars are also rotating about the dynamic center. The late-type stars follow general Galactic rotation, while the early-type stars show counter-rotation. Fitting simultaneously the observed projected surface densities and velocity dispersions, we derive the intrinsic volume densities and radial velocity dispersions as a function of distance from the dynamic center for both types of stars. We then derive the mass distribution between 0.1 and 5 pc from the Jeans equation assuming an isotropic velocity field. Our analysis requires a compact central dark mass of 2.5 − 3.2 × 10 6 M ☉ at 6 − 8 σ significance. The dark mass has a density of 10 9 M ☉ pc −3 or greater and a mass to 2 μm luminosity of ≥ 100. The increase in mass-to-luminosity ratio can be reduced but not eliminated even if extreme anisotropic velocity destributions are considered. The dark mass cannot be a cluster of solar mass remnants (such as neutron stars). It is either a compact cluster of 10–20 M ☉ black holes or a single massive black hole.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1086/178051

Cites

12 of 12 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The mass of the Milky Way black hole is approximately 4 × 10^6 solar masses.

    “very similar to the MW black hole, M bh ≈ 4 × 10 6 M ⊙ (Genzel et al. 1996; Schödel et al. 2002; Ghez et al. 2003; EHT Collaboration et al. 2022a).”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Genzel et al. 1996

    In the paper’s discussion of possible dark-mass configurations (page unavailable), the authors identify a single massive black hole as the most probable explanation, but estimate its mass at 2.5–3 × 10^6 solar masses. That supports the black-hole identification, not the cited value of approximately 4 × 10^6 solar masses. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The central parsec of the GC hosts a compact star cluster (M⋆≃10^6 M⊙) where the majority of stars are old (age≳1 Gyr) with an average rotation vector in the same direction as the Galaxy.

    “The central parsec of the GC is known to host a compact star cluster ( M ⋆ ≃ 10 6 M ⊙ ) where the majority of stars are old (age ≳ 1 Gyr) that have an average rotation vector in the same direction as the Galaxy itself (Becklin et al. 1978; Launhardt et al. 2002; Genzel et al. 1996; Trippe et al. 2008; Schödel et al. 2009; von Fellenberg et al. 2022).”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Genzel et al. 1996

    Section 6 describes a dense stellar cluster in the central parsec, and Appendix B calls its lower-mass late-type stars old. Section 3.2 measures a weak rotation signal for late-type stars but explicitly finds that the young early-type stars rotate opposite to the Galaxy. The cited passages do not establish that a majority of the stars are at least 1 Gyr old, that the cluster’s stellar mass is approximately 10^6 M⊙, or that the cluster as a whole rotates in the Galaxy’s direction. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Our Galaxy contains a SMBH of mass Mbh≈4.14×10^6 M⊙ at its center, Sgr A*, at a distance D=8.127 kpc.

    “Our Galaxy is known to contain a supermassive black hole (SMBH) of mass M bh ≈ 4 . 14 × 10 6 M ⊙ at its center, Sgr A ∗ , at a distance of D = 8 . 127 kpc (Genzel et al. 1996; Schödel et al. 2002; Ghez et al. 2003; Genzel et al. 2010; GRAVITY Collaboration et al. 2019; EHT Collaboration et al. 2022a).”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Genzel et al. 1996

    The Conclusions report a dark central mass and identify a single massive black hole as the most probable explanation. But they estimate 2.5–3.2 million solar masses, not 4.14 million; the Introduction assumes a Galactic-center distance of 8.5 kpc, not 8.127 kpc. This paper therefore supports the central-black-hole context, but not the quoted measurements or their certainty. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 12

  1. REFERENCES D. A. 1987, in AIP Conf. Proc. 155, The Galactic Center, ed. D. C. Allen, Backer (New York : AIP), 1 1994, in The Nuclei of Normal Galaxies, ed. R. Genzel & A. I. ÈÈÈ. Harris (Dordrecht : Kluwer), 293
  2. J. J., & Tremaine, S. C. 1987, Galactic Dynamics (Princeton : Prin- Binney, ceton Univ. Press)
  3. J. A., Lo, K. Y., & Young, P. J. 1982, in AIP Conf. Proc., 83, The Biretta, Galactic Center, ed. G. R. Riegler & R. D. Blandford (New York : AIP), 91
  4. A., & Genzel, R. 1996, Nature, in Eckart, press A., Genzel, R., Hofmann, R., Sams, B. J., & Tacconi-Garman, L. E. Eckart, 1993, ApJ, 407, L77 1995, ApJ, 445, ÈÈÈ.
  5. W. J., Shure, M. A., Pipher, J. L., & Woodward, C. E. 1987, in AIP Forrest, Conf. Proc. 155, The Galactic Center, ed., D. C. Backer (New York : AIP), 153
  6. Krabbe, I) 1995b, Proc. SPIE, 2457, ÈÈÈ. 172
  7. F., et al. 1996, in The Galactic Center, ESO/CTIO Conf. Proc., Najarro, ed. R. Gredel, in press R., & Yi, I. 1995, ApJ, 457, Narayan, 710
  8. L. M. 1987, in AIP Conf. Proc. 155, The Galactic Center, ed.
  9. G. H., & Lebofsky, M. J. 1987, in AIP Conf. Proc. 155, The Galactic Rieke, Center, ed. D. C. Backer (New York : AIP), 91
  10. P., Bicknell, G. V., & McGregor, P. J. 1996, PASP, in Saha, press J., Eckart, A., & Genzel, R. 1996, in Schmidt, preparation K., Hall, D. N. B., Kleinmann, S. G., & Scoville, N. Z. 1987, ApJ, Sellgren, 371, 881
  11. N., Weitzel, L., Cameron, M., Tacconi-Garman, L. E., Krabbe, A., Thatte, & Genzel, R. 1995, Proc. SPIE, 2224, 279
  12. L., Krabbe, A., Kroker, H., Thatte, N., Tacconi-Garman, L. E., Weitzel, Cameron, M., & Genzel, R. 1996, A&A, in press E. 1976, Ph.D. thesis, Univ. California, Wollman, Berkeley

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Genzel, R., Thatte, N., Krabbe, A., Kroker, H., & Tacconi‐Garman, L. E.
Affiliations
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE)
ORCID
Venue
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Published
1996-11-20
Volume
472
Issue
1
Pages
153-172
ISSN
  • 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
  • 1538-4357
DOI
10.1086/178051
OpenAlex
W2036445622
Cited by
326
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 4
FWCI
15.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
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 › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Keywords
Galactic Center, dark matter mass, stellar velocity dispersion, early-type stars, late-type stars, counter-rotation, black holes, black hole clusters, mass-to-light ratio, Jeans equation, Milky Way

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review