Identification of a high-velocity compact nebular filament 2.2 arcsec south of the Galactic Centre

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a high-velocity compact nebular filament near Sgr A* in the Galactic Centre, characterized by strong emission lines and a significant velocity gradient, likely caused by shock interactions.

Contribution

The identification and detailed analysis of a new high-velocity nebular filament close to Sgr A* with implications for understanding Galactic Centre dynamics.

Findings

The filament extends ~1 arcsec with a velocity gradient of ~200 km/s/arcsec.

Peak emission is near star IRS 33N, with Vr = -267 km/s.

The filament's orientation is similar to the Bar and Eastern Arm.

Abstract

The central parsec of the Milky Way is a very special region of our Galaxy; it contains the supermassive black hole associated with Sgr A* as well as a significant number of early-type stars and a complex structure of streamers of neutral and ionized gas, within two parsecs from the centre, representing a unique laboratory. We report the identification of a high velocity compact nebular filament 2.2 arcsec south of Sgr A*. The structure extends over ~1 arcsec and presents a strong velocity gradient of ~200 km s^{-1} arcsec^{-1}. The peak of maximum emission, seen in [Fe III] and He I lines, is located at d{\alpha} = +0.20 +/- 0.06 arcsec and d{\delta} = -2.20 +/- 0.06 arcsec with respect to Sgr A*. This position is near the star IRS 33N. The velocity at the emission peak is Vr = -267 km s^{-1}. The filament has a position angle of PA = 115{\degr} +/- 10{\degr}, similar to that of the Bar and of the Eastern Arm at that position. The peak position is located 0.7 arcsec north of the binary X-ray and radio transient CXOGX J174540.0-290031, a low-mass X-ray binary with an orbital period of 7.9 hr. The [Fe III] line emission is strong in the filament and its vicinity. These lines are probably produced by shock heating but we cannot exclude some X-ray photoionization from the low-mass X-ray binary. Although we cannot rule out the idea of a compact nebular jet, we interpret this filament as a possible shock between the Northern and the Eastern Arm or between the Northern Arm and the mini-spiral "Bar".