No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 May 2014
We aim at modeling small groups of young stars such as IRS 13N, 0.1 pc away from Sgr A*, which is suggested to contain a few embedded massive young stellar objects. We perform hydrodynamical simulations to follow the evolution of molecular clumps orbiting around a 4 × 106 M⊙ black hole, to constrain the formation and the physical conditions of such groups.
We find that the strong compression due to the black hole along the orbital radius vector of clumps evolving on highly eccentric orbits causes the clumps densities to increase to higher than the tidal density of Sgr A* and required for star formation. This suggests that the tidal compression from the black hole could support star formation.
Additionally, we speculate that the infrared excess source G2/DSO approaching Sgr A* on a highly eccentric orbit could be associated with a dust enshrouded star that may have been formed recently through the mechanism supported by our models.