3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption
The Milky Way’s Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is the largest concentration of dense molecular gas in the Galaxy, the structure of which is shaped by the complex interplay between Galactic-scale dynamics and extreme physical conditions. Understanding the 3D geometry of this gas is crucial, as it deter...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb5ef |
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| author | Daniel L. Walker Cara Battersby Dani Lipman Mattia C. Sormani Adam Ginsburg Simon C. O. Glover Jonathan D. Henshaw Steven N. Longmore Ralf S. Klessen Katharina Immer Danya Alboslani John Bally Ashley Barnes H Perry Hatchfield Elisabeth A. C. Mills Rowan Smith Robin G. Tress Qizhou Zhang |
| author_facet | Daniel L. Walker Cara Battersby Dani Lipman Mattia C. Sormani Adam Ginsburg Simon C. O. Glover Jonathan D. Henshaw Steven N. Longmore Ralf S. Klessen Katharina Immer Danya Alboslani John Bally Ashley Barnes H Perry Hatchfield Elisabeth A. C. Mills Rowan Smith Robin G. Tress Qizhou Zhang |
| author_sort | Daniel L. Walker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Milky Way’s Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is the largest concentration of dense molecular gas in the Galaxy, the structure of which is shaped by the complex interplay between Galactic-scale dynamics and extreme physical conditions. Understanding the 3D geometry of this gas is crucial, as it determines the locations of star formation and subsequent feedback. We present a catalog of clouds in the CMZ using Herschel data. Using archival data from the APEX and MOPRA CMZ surveys, we measure averaged kinematic properties of the clouds at 1 and 3 mm. We use archival ATCA data of the H _2 CO (1 _1,0 –1 _1,1 ) 4.8 GHz line to search for absorption towards the clouds, and 4.85 GHz Green Bank Telescope (GBT) C -band data to measure the radio continuum emission. We measure the absorption against the continuum to provide new constraints for the line-of-sight positions of the clouds relative to the Galactic Center, and find a highly asymmetric distribution, with most clouds residing in front of the Galactic Center. The results are compared with different orbital models, and we introduce a revised toy model of a vertically oscillating closed elliptical orbit. We find that most models describe the position–position–velocity structure of the gas reasonably well, but find significant inconsistencies in all cases regarding the near versus far placement of individual clouds. Our results highlight that the CMZ is likely more complex than can be captured by these simple geometric models, along with the need for new data to provide further constraints on the true 3D structure of the CMZ. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbea2813e3f64e9c93c19097a7e89b31 |
| 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-dbea2813e3f64e9c93c19097a7e89b312025-08-20T02:14:11ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01984215810.3847/1538-4357/adb5ef3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and AbsorptionDaniel L. Walker0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7330-8856Cara Battersby1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6073-9320Dani Lipman2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5776-9473Mattia C. Sormani3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6113-6241Adam Ginsburg4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6431-9633Simon C. O. Glover5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6708-1317Jonathan D. Henshaw6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9656-7682Steven N. Longmore7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6353-0170Ralf S. Klessen8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0560-3172Katharina Immer9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4140-5138Danya Alboslani10https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9578-2192John Bally11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8135-6612Ashley Barnes12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0410-4504H Perry Hatchfield13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0946-4365Elisabeth A. C. Mills14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8782-1992Rowan Smith15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0820-1814Robin G. Tress16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9483-7164Qizhou Zhang17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2384-6589UK ALMA Regional Centre Node, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, The University of Manchester , Manchester M13 9PL, UK ; daniel.walker.astro@gmail.com; Department of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196A Auditorium Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USADepartment of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196A Auditorium Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USA; Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , MS-78, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USADepartment of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196A Auditorium Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USAUniversità dell’Insubria , via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, ItalyUniversity 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, GermanyAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK; Cosmic Origins Of Life (COOL) Research DAO , 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, USAEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, 85748 Garching, GermanyDepartment of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196A Auditorium Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USACASA, University of Colorado , 389-UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USAEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, 85748 Garching, GermanyDepartment of Physics, University of Connecticut , 196A Auditorium Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USA; Jet Propulsion Laboratory , California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USADepartment 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, SwitzerlandCenter for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , MS-78, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAThe Milky Way’s Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is the largest concentration of dense molecular gas in the Galaxy, the structure of which is shaped by the complex interplay between Galactic-scale dynamics and extreme physical conditions. Understanding the 3D geometry of this gas is crucial, as it determines the locations of star formation and subsequent feedback. We present a catalog of clouds in the CMZ using Herschel data. Using archival data from the APEX and MOPRA CMZ surveys, we measure averaged kinematic properties of the clouds at 1 and 3 mm. We use archival ATCA data of the H _2 CO (1 _1,0 –1 _1,1 ) 4.8 GHz line to search for absorption towards the clouds, and 4.85 GHz Green Bank Telescope (GBT) C -band data to measure the radio continuum emission. We measure the absorption against the continuum to provide new constraints for the line-of-sight positions of the clouds relative to the Galactic Center, and find a highly asymmetric distribution, with most clouds residing in front of the Galactic Center. The results are compared with different orbital models, and we introduce a revised toy model of a vertically oscillating closed elliptical orbit. We find that most models describe the position–position–velocity structure of the gas reasonably well, but find significant inconsistencies in all cases regarding the near versus far placement of individual clouds. Our results highlight that the CMZ is likely more complex than can be captured by these simple geometric models, along with the need for new data to provide further constraints on the true 3D structure of the CMZ.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb5efGalactic centerMolecular clouds |
| spellingShingle | Daniel L. Walker Cara Battersby Dani Lipman Mattia C. Sormani Adam Ginsburg Simon C. O. Glover Jonathan D. Henshaw Steven N. Longmore Ralf S. Klessen Katharina Immer Danya Alboslani John Bally Ashley Barnes H Perry Hatchfield Elisabeth A. C. Mills Rowan Smith Robin G. Tress Qizhou Zhang 3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption The Astrophysical Journal Galactic center Molecular clouds |
| title | 3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption |
| title_full | 3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption |
| title_fullStr | 3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption |
| title_full_unstemmed | 3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption |
| title_short | 3D CMZ. III. Constraining the 3D Structure of the Central Molecular Zone via Molecular Line Emission and Absorption |
| title_sort | 3d cmz iii constraining the 3d structure of the central molecular zone via molecular line emission and absorption |
| topic | Galactic center Molecular clouds |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb5ef |
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