Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 6 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5796, pp. 106 - 109
DOI: 10.1126/science.1130425
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Molecular Loops in the Galactic Center: Evidence for Magnetic Flotation

Yasuo Fukui,1* Hiroaki Yamamoto,1 Motosuji Fujishita,1 Natsuko Kudo,1 Kazufumi Torii,1 Satoshi Nozawa,2 Kunio Takahashi,3,4 Ryoji Matsumoto,5 Mami Machida,3 Akiko Kawamura,1 Yoshinori Yonekura,6 Norikazu Mizuno,1 Toshikazu Onishi,1 Akira Mizuno7

The central few hundred parsecs of the Milky Way host a massive black hole and exhibit very violent gas motion and high temperatures in molecular gas. The origin of these properties has been a mystery for the past four decades. Wide-field imaging of the 12CO (rotational quantum number J = 1 to 0) 2.6-millimeter spectrum has revealed huge loops of dense molecular gas with strong velocity dispersions in the galactic center. We present a magnetic flotation model to explain that the formation of the loops is due to magnetic buoyancy caused by the Parker instability. The model has the potential to offer a coherent explanation for the origin of the violent motion and extensive heating of the molecular gas in the galactic center.

1 Department of Astrophysics, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
2 Department of Science, Ibaraki University, 2-1-1 Bunkyo, Mito, Ibaraki 310-8512, Japan.
3 National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan.
4 The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Miura, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan.
5 Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan.
6 Department of Physical Science, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan.
7 Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Chikusaku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fukui{at}a.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Read the Full Text

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)