3D MC I: X-ray Tomography Begins to Unravel the 3-D Structure of a Molecular Cloud in our Galaxy's Center

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel X-ray tomography method to map the three-dimensional structure of a molecular cloud in the Galactic center, combining X-ray and molecular data for detailed environmental analysis.

Contribution

The study presents a new X-ray tomography technique and applies it to reveal the 3-D structure of the Sticks cloud in the Galactic center.

Findings

3-D map of the Sticks cloud constructed

Insights into the cloud's internal environment gained

Method demonstrates potential for studying other molecular clouds

Abstract

Astronomers have used observations of the Galactic gas and dust via infrared, microwave, and radio to study molecular clouds in extreme environments such as the Galactic center. More recently, X- ray telescopes have opened up a new wavelength range in which to study these molecular clouds. Previous flaring events from SgrA* propagate X-rays outwards in all directions, and these X-rays interact with the surrounding molecular gas, illuminating different parts of the clouds over time. We use a combination of X-ray observations from Chandra and molecular gas tracers (line data from Herschel and the Submillimeter Array) to analyze specific features in the Sticks cloud, one of three clouds in the Three Little Pigs system in the Central Molecular Zone (Galactic longitude and latitude of 0.106 and -0.082 degrees respectively). We also present a novel X-ray tomography method we used to create 3-D map of the Sticks cloud. By combining X-ray and molecular tracer observations, we are able to learn more about the environment inside the Sticks cloud.