Abstract
It is believed that young massive stars orbiting Sgr A* in two stellar discs on scales of ∼ 0.1-0.2 parsec were formed either farther out in the Galaxy and then quickly migrated inwards or in situ in a massive self-gravitating disc. Comparing N-body evolution of stellar orbits with observational constraints, we set upper limits on the masses of the two stellar systems. These masses turn out to be a few times lower than the expected total stellar mass estimated from the observed young high-mass stellar population and the standard galactic initial mass function (IMF). If these stars were formed in situ, in a massive self-gravitating disc, our results suggest that the formation of low-mass stars was suppressed by a factor of at least a few, requiring a top-heavy IMF for stars formed near Sgr A*.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1410-1414 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 366 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Accretion, accretion discs
- Galaxies: active
- Galaxy: centre
- Stars: formation