Rotation and stability of the circumnuclear gas disk in the Galactic Center potential by the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey (ACES)

Abstract We investigated the gravitational potential and mass distribution in the Galactic Center by examining the morphology and kinematics of the circumnuclear gaseous disk revealed by the molecular line data from the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey. We obtain an estimate of the shape of the potential within the central ${\sim}20$ pc to reproduce the observed properties of the circumnuclear gas disk by simulating the motion of test particles for various axial ratios and show that the potential is approximately spherical. We construct a rotation curve by applying the terminal velocity method to the position–velocity diagrams, and calculate the mass distribution in the Galactic Center. The distribution of mass density is found to be of cusp type, approximated by $\rho _{\rm dyn}\sim 1.56\times 10^5(R/1\, \mbox{pc})^{-1.9}~M_{\odot }\, \mbox{pc}^{-3}$, where R is the distance from the nucleus. We discuss the tidal effect caused by the gravitational potential that produces the rotation curve and show that the gas disk is stable against self-gravitational contraction within a critical radius of $R_{\rm T}\sim 14 ~(\rho _{\rm gas}/10^5 {\rm H_2\, {\mbox{cm}}^{-3}})^{-1/2}\, \mbox{pc}$. This suggests suppression of star formation and a top-heavy initial mass function in the circumnuclear region.

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Publication Details

Journal
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Published
2026-01-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psaf159
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Type
article
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article

Rotation and stability of the circumnuclear gas disk in the Galactic Center potential by the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey (ACES)

Jairo Armijos-Abendaño, Laura Colzi, F. Nogueras-Lara, Pei-Ying Hsieh et al.
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
article

Rotation and stability of the circumnuclear gas disk in the Galactic Center potential by the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey (ACES)

Jairo Armijos-Abendaño, Laura Colzi, F. Nogueras-Lara, Pei-Ying Hsieh, Karl Fiteni, Jonathan D. Henshaw, Zi‐Xuan Feng, A. Sanchez-Monge, Cara Battersby, Steven N. Longmore, Elizabeth Mills, M. Petkova, C. Henkel, A. T. Barnes, Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, Y. Sofue, Pablo García, D. Walker, C. Mattia Sormani, Jen Wallace, Paul Ho, Savannah Gramze, Adam Ginsburg, John Bally, J M Diederik Kruijssen, Dylan M Paré, Ralf S Klessen, Victor M Rivilla
article en

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the gravitational potential and mass distribution in the Galactic Center by examining the morphology and kinematics of the circumnuclear gaseous disk revealed by the molecular line data from the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey. We obtain an estimate of the shape of the potential within the central ${\sim}20$ pc to reproduce the observed properties of the circumnuclear gas disk by simulating the motion of test particles for various axial ratios and show that the potential is approximately spherical. We construct a rotation curve by applying the terminal velocity method to the position–velocity diagrams, and calculate the mass distribution in the Galactic Center. The distribution of mass density is found to be of cusp type, approximated by $\rho _{\rm dyn}\sim 1.56\times 10^5(R/1\, \mbox{pc})^{-1.9}~M_{\odot }\, \mbox{pc}^{-3}$, where R is the distance from the nucleus. We discuss the tidal effect caused by the gravitational potential that produces the rotation curve and show that the gas disk is stable against self-gravitational contraction within a critical radius of $R_{\rm T}\sim 14 ~(\rho _{\rm gas}/10^5 {\rm H_2\, {\mbox{cm}}^{-3}})^{-1/2}\, \mbox{pc}$. This suggests suppression of star formation and a top-heavy initial mass function in the circumnuclear region.

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
University of Insubria (IT), European Southern Observatory (DE), University of Connecticut (US), University of Kansas (US), University of Malta (MT), Heidelberg University (DE), Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array (CL), Theodore Roosevelt High School (US), Universidad Católica del Norte (CL), University of Manchester (GB), University of Florida (US), Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (ES), National Polytechnic School (EC), Czech Society for Oriental Studies (CZ), Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE), Institute of Space Sciences (ES), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ES), Astronomy and Space (AU), Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (ES), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), National Astronomical Observatories (CN), Liverpool John Moores University (GB), Chalmers University of Technology (SE), Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (DE), The University of Tokyo (JP)
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Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
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