Widespread Hot Ammonia in the Central Kiloparsec of the Milky Way
Tierra M. Candelaria, E.A.C Mills, David S. Meier, Juergen Ott,, Natalie Butterfield

TL;DR
This study measures extremely high molecular gas temperatures in the Milky Way's central region, revealing non-thermal motions dominate and that high temperatures are not solely linked to star formation activity.
Contribution
It provides the first detailed temperature measurements of hot ammonia in the Galactic center, extending understanding of gas energetics and kinematics in this extreme environment.
Findings
Detected temperatures up to 580 K in the Galactic center.
Found no correlation between gas temperature and Galactocentric radius.
Confirmed non-thermal broadening dominates line widths.
Abstract
The inner 300-500 pc of the Milky Way has some of the most extreme gas conditions in our Galaxy. Physical properties of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), including temperature, density, thermal pressure, and turbulent pressure, are key factors for characterizing gas energetics, kinematics, and evolution. The molecular gas in this region is more than an order of magnitude hotter than gas in the Galactic disk, but the mechanism responsible for heating the gas remains uncertain. We characterize the temperature for 16 regions, extending out to a projected radius of 450 pc. We observe \am\, J,K=(1,1)-(6,6) inversion transitions from SWAG (Survey of Water and Ammonia in the Galactic Center) using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and ammonia lines (J,K) = (8,8)-(14,14) using the 100\,m Green Bank Telescope. Using these two samples we create full Boltzmann plots for every…
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Taxonomy
TopicsScientific Research and Discoveries · Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies · Astro and Planetary Science
