3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel
A comprehensive 3D model of the central 300 pc of the Milky Way, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is of fundamental importance in understanding energy cycles in galactic nuclei, since the 3D structure influences the location and intensity of star formation, feedback, and black hole accretion. Curren...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb5ee |
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| author | Dani Lipman Cara Battersby Daniel L. Walker Mattia C. Sormani John Bally Ashley Barnes Adam Ginsburg Simon C. O. Glover Jonathan D. Henshaw H Perry Hatchfield Katharina Immer Ralf S. Klessen Steven N. Longmore Elisabeth A. C. Mills Rowan Smith R. G. Tress Danya Alboslani Qizhou Zhang |
| author_facet | Dani Lipman Cara Battersby Daniel L. Walker Mattia C. Sormani John Bally Ashley Barnes Adam Ginsburg Simon C. O. Glover Jonathan D. Henshaw H Perry Hatchfield Katharina Immer Ralf S. Klessen Steven N. Longmore Elisabeth A. C. Mills Rowan Smith R. G. Tress Danya Alboslani Qizhou Zhang |
| author_sort | Dani Lipman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A comprehensive 3D model of the central 300 pc of the Milky Way, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is of fundamental importance in understanding energy cycles in galactic nuclei, since the 3D structure influences the location and intensity of star formation, feedback, and black hole accretion. Current observational constraints are insufficient to distinguish between existing 3D models. Dust extinction is one diagnostic tool that can help determine the location of dark molecular clouds relative to the bright Galactic Center emission. By combining Herschel and Spitzer observations, we developed three new dust extinction techniques to estimate the likely near/far locations for each cloud in the CMZ. We compare our results to four geometric CMZ orbital models. Our extinction methods show good agreement with each other, and with results from spectral line absorption analysis from Walker et al. Our near/far results for CMZ clouds are inconsistent with a projected version of the Y. Sofue two-spiral-arms model, and show disagreement in position–velocity space with the S. Molinari et al. closed elliptical orbit. Our results are in reasonable agreement with the J. M. D. Kruijssen et al. open streams. We find that a simplified toy-model elliptical orbit that conserves angular momentum shows promising fits in both position–position and position–velocity space. We conclude that all current CMZ orbital models lack the complexity needed to describe the motion of gas in the CMZ, and further work is needed to construct a complex orbital model to accurately describe gas flows in the CMZ. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ed1f8aba5d8548c8bdbb11e5a82f4e50 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-ed1f8aba5d8548c8bdbb11e5a82f4e502025-08-20T02:14:11ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01984215910.3847/1538-4357/adb5ee3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and HerschelDani Lipman0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5776-9473Cara Battersby1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6073-9320Daniel L. Walker2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7330-8856Mattia C. Sormani3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6113-6241John Bally4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8135-6612Ashley Barnes5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0410-4504Adam Ginsburg6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6431-9633Simon C. O. Glover7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6708-1317Jonathan D. Henshaw8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9656-7682H Perry Hatchfield9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0946-4365Katharina Immer10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4140-5138Ralf S. Klessen11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0560-3172Steven N. Longmore12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6353-0170Elisabeth A. C. Mills13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8782-1992Rowan Smith14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0820-1814R. G. Tress15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9483-7164Danya Alboslani16https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9578-2192Qizhou Zhang17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2384-6589University of Connecticut , Department of Physics, 196A Hillside Road, Unit 3046 Storrs, CT 06269-3046, USAUniversity of Connecticut , Department of Physics, 196A Hillside Road, Unit 3046 Storrs, CT 06269-3046, USA; Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , MS-78, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAUniversity of Connecticut , Department of Physics, 196A Hillside Road, Unit 3046 Storrs, CT 06269-3046, USA; UK ALMA Regional Centre Node, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Oxford Road, The University of Manchester , Manchester M13 9PL, UKUniversità dell’Insubria , via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, ItalyCASA, University of Colorado , 389-UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USAEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, 85748 Garching, GermanyUniversity of Florida Department of Astronomy , Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611, USAUniversität Heidelberg , Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK; Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, GermanyUniversity of Connecticut , Department of Physics, 196A Hillside Road, Unit 3046 Storrs, CT 06269-3046, USA; Jet Propulsion Laboratory , California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USAEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, 85748 Garching, GermanyCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , MS-78, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Universität Heidelberg , Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Universität Heidelberg , Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University , 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK; Cosmic Origins Of Life (COOL) Research DAO , GermanyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas , 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045, USAScottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews , North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS, UK; Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UKInstitute of Physics , Laboratory for Galaxy Evolution and Spectral Modelling, EPFL, Observatoire de Sauverny, Chemin Pegasi 51, 1290 Versoix, SwitzerlandUniversity of Connecticut , Department of Physics, 196A Hillside Road, Unit 3046 Storrs, CT 06269-3046, USACenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , MS-78, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAA comprehensive 3D model of the central 300 pc of the Milky Way, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is of fundamental importance in understanding energy cycles in galactic nuclei, since the 3D structure influences the location and intensity of star formation, feedback, and black hole accretion. Current observational constraints are insufficient to distinguish between existing 3D models. Dust extinction is one diagnostic tool that can help determine the location of dark molecular clouds relative to the bright Galactic Center emission. By combining Herschel and Spitzer observations, we developed three new dust extinction techniques to estimate the likely near/far locations for each cloud in the CMZ. We compare our results to four geometric CMZ orbital models. Our extinction methods show good agreement with each other, and with results from spectral line absorption analysis from Walker et al. Our near/far results for CMZ clouds are inconsistent with a projected version of the Y. Sofue two-spiral-arms model, and show disagreement in position–velocity space with the S. Molinari et al. closed elliptical orbit. Our results are in reasonable agreement with the J. M. D. Kruijssen et al. open streams. We find that a simplified toy-model elliptical orbit that conserves angular momentum shows promising fits in both position–position and position–velocity space. We conclude that all current CMZ orbital models lack the complexity needed to describe the motion of gas in the CMZ, and further work is needed to construct a complex orbital model to accurately describe gas flows in the CMZ.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb5eeInfrared dark cloudsInterstellar dust extinctionGalactic center |
| spellingShingle | Dani Lipman Cara Battersby Daniel L. Walker Mattia C. Sormani John Bally Ashley Barnes Adam Ginsburg Simon C. O. Glover Jonathan D. Henshaw H Perry Hatchfield Katharina Immer Ralf S. Klessen Steven N. Longmore Elisabeth A. C. Mills Rowan Smith R. G. Tress Danya Alboslani Qizhou Zhang 3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel The Astrophysical Journal Infrared dark clouds Interstellar dust extinction Galactic center |
| title | 3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel |
| title_full | 3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel |
| title_fullStr | 3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel |
| title_full_unstemmed | 3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel |
| title_short | 3D CMZ. IV. Distinguishing Near versus Far Distances in the Galactic Center Using Spitzer and Herschel |
| title_sort | 3d cmz iv distinguishing near versus far distances in the galactic center using spitzer and herschel |
| topic | Infrared dark clouds Interstellar dust extinction Galactic center |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb5ee |
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