Collimation of astrophysical jets by inertial confinement
Abstract
IT has been known for almost two decades that there is a compact, nonthermal radio source within one arcsecond of the dynamical/ gravitational centre of our Galaxy1,2. This source, designated SgrA*, is regarded as the most likely candidate for a central black hole3. Evidence for an active central source has, however, so far been lacking at infrared wavelengths4-8. Here we report near-infrared speckle and imaging spectroscopic observations which resolve the central complex (comprising SgrA*and the infrared source IRS16) into about two dozen compact sources. An expanding bubble of hot gas is found to be centred within 3 arcsec of SgrA*. There is also evidence of a blue object, positionally coincident with SgrA*, emitting at 2 μm. The hot bubble is probably created by shock excitation of a fast wind. These observations are consistent with the presence of an accreting massive black hole at the Galactic Centre.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- February 1992
- DOI:
- 10.1038/355526a0
- Bibcode:
- 1992Natur.355..526E
- Keywords:
-
- Black Holes (Astronomy);
- High Temperature Gases;
- Infrared Sources (Astronomy);
- Milky Way Galaxy;
- Near Infrared Radiation;
- Radio Sources (Astronomy);
- Accretion Disks;
- Infrared Spectroscopy;
- Interstellar Gas;
- Spatial Resolution;
- Astrophysics