The Galactic Center: Insights from K-band Spectroscopy – Anja Feldmeier-Krause

The Galactic center region has a mass of ~10^9 M_sun. It consists of the nuclear stellar disk (NSD), a flat, rotating stellar structure, and the nuclear star cluster (NSC), the densest concentration of stars in the Galaxy. 

The NSC and NSD are distinct structures of the Milky Way, but also connected to the larger Milky Way structures, e.g. via the inflow and outflow of gas, and the infall of star clusters. Our knowledge of the larger Milky Way structures, Galactic disc, bulge and halo, has expanded in recent years through surveys and dedicated missions. Hidden behind large amounts of interstellar dust, the Galactic center structures, NSC and NSD, are inaccessible for these surveys, and they miss an important piece for our understanding of the Milky Way’s formation and evolution. 

In this talk I will present spectroscopic observations of the Galactic center, resulting in >2,500 stellar spectra. I will show the spatial distribution of young (few Myr old) stars, the metallicity distribution of the older (several Gyr) red giant stars, and spatial variations of the metallicity distribution. 

Horarios: August 22, 2023 15:30

Publicado por: Claudia Aguilera