The stars of the Galactic center

• We consider the origin of the so-called S stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the very center of the Galaxy. These are usually assumed to be massive main-sequence stars. We argue instead that they are the remnants of low-to-intermediate mass red giants that have been scattered into near-radial orbits and tidally stripped as they approach the central black hole. Such stars retain only low-mass envelopes and thus have high effective temperatures. Our picture simultaneously explains why S stars have tightly bound orbits and the observed depletion of red giants in the very center of the Galaxy.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Galaxy : center

Galaxy : kinematics and dynamics

Galaxy : nucleus

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)