Abstracts » Zoology and wildlife conservation

Sustained star formation in the central stellar cluster of the Milky Way

Article Abstract:

The young and intermediate-age stars in the central stellar bulge of the Milky Way provide support to the hypothesis that star formation is a continuous process in the molecular gas near to the centre of the bulge. The process occurs throughout the galaxy's lifetime. This hypothesis does not agree with the established view of the central cluster being the innermost part of the more extended/ancient bulge. The sustained star formation tallies well with the available observational data and mass inflow models. The stellar population of the bulge seems to have increased substantially.

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Hard-pressed molecular clouds

Article Abstract:

The interstellar pressure within 100 parsecs of the Galactic Center is two and one-half orders of magnitude greater than the pressure found in the solar neighborhood. This finding, based on a new examination of the available X-ray data by D.N. Spergel and L. Blitz, may force a re-evaluation of long-standing theories on the flow of thermal and dynamical energy through the Galactic Center. The high pressures detected among the molecular clouds surrounding the Center may be caused by supernovae or the gravitational potential energy yielded by the accretion of gas.

X-ray astronomy, Interstellar molecules

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An extraordinary cluster of massive stars near the centre of the Milky Way

Article Abstract:

The stellar population of the Arches cluster in the central region of our Galaxy is made up of a large number of hot, massive O stars. This population extends to the rarest O3 stellar type at the very top of the main sequence. There are around 120 massive O stars, of which 12 may have evolved to the Wolf-Rayet phase. There are indications that nuclear star formation could be triggered by large-scale shock compression of the interstellar medium.

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