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Cited by 116Astrophysics and Star Formation StudiesAstrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsStellar, planetary, and galactic studies

Simulations of the formation of stellar discs in the Galactic Centre via cloud-cloud collisions

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Hobbs, Alexander, Nayakshin, Sergei·2009·Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14359.x
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Abstract

Young massive stars in the central parsec of our Galaxy are best explained by star formation within at least one, and possibly two, massive self-gravitating gaseous discs. With help of numerical simulations, we here consider whether the observed population of young stars could have originated from a large angle collision of two massive gaseous clouds at R≃ 1 pc from Sgr A*. In all the simulations performed, the post-collision gas flow forms an inner, nearly circular gaseous disc and one or two eccentric outer filaments, consistent with the observations. Furthermore, the radial stellar mass distribution is always very steep, Σ*∝R−2, again consistent with the observations. All of our simulations produce discs that are warped by between 30° and 60°, in accordance with the most recent observations. The three-dimensional velocity structure of the stellar distribution is sensitive to initial conditions (e.g. the impact parameter of the clouds) and gas cooling details. For example, the runs in which the inner disc is fed intermittently with material possessing fluctuating angular momentum result in multiple stellar discs with different orbital orientations, contradicting the observed data. In all the cases the amount of gas accreted by our inner boundary condition is large, enough to allow Sgr A* to radiate near its Eddington limit over ∼105 yr. This suggests that a refined model would have physically larger clouds (or a cloud and a disc such as the circumnuclear disc) colliding at a distance of a few parsecs rather than 1 pc as in our simulations.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14359.x

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  • Numerical simulations suggest that during this event, about 10-30% gas was directly accreted onto the black hole over a viscous time-scale of ~10^7 yr with an accretion rate of ~10^-4-10^-3 M⊙/yr.

    “Numerical simulations suggest that during this event, about 10 -30% gas was directly accreted onto the black hole over a viscous time-scale of ∼ 10 7 yr with an accretion rate of ∼ 10 -4 -10 -3 M ⊙ yr -1 .”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Hobbs & Nayakshin 2009

  • The accretion could have produced about 0.1%-1% of Eddington luminosity, i.e. 5×10^41-42 erg/s.

    “The accretion, therefore, could have produced about 0 . 1% -1% of Eddington luminosity, i.e. 5 × 10 41 -42 erg s -1 (Bonnell & Rice 2008; Hobbs & Nayakshin 2009).”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Hobbs & Nayakshin 2009

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Authors
Hobbs, A., & Nayakshin, S.
Affiliations
University of Leicester (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2009-03-21
Volume
394
Issue
1
Pages
191-206
ISSN
  • 0035-8711 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2966
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14359.x
OpenAlex
W2015068177
Cited by
116
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 12
FWCI
6.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
Science and Technology Facilities Council (PP/E00119X/1)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
  • 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
Keywords
Galactic Center, stellar disks, cloud-cloud collisions, young massive stars, Sgr A*, disk warping, stellar mass distribution, velocity structure, circumnuclear disc, gas accretion, Eddington limit, star formation

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