Abstract
THE central stellar bulge of our Galaxy is commonly thought to consist predominantly of a coeval population of very old (~1010yr) stars1–3. But evidence for young4 and intermediate-age stars5,6 in the bulge is accumulating. Here we argue that star formation has been occurring in the molecular gas near the centre of the bulge throughout the lifetime of the Galaxy, and that the resulting stellar population is evident as the prominent infrared7,8 'r−2 central star cluster' (a cluster whose space density decreases as the square of the distance from the centre). Although our hypothesis is at odds with the standard view that this central cluster is the innermost part of the more extended and ancient bulge9–11, sustained star formation is consistent with both the available observational data and simple models of mass inflow and collisionally induced star formation in this region. Even if the central star-formation rate is relatively modest, it appears that the stellar population of the Galactic bulge has been augmented substantially since its birth.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Terndrup, D. M. Astron. J. 96, 884–908 (1988).
Lee, Y.-W. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacif. 104, 798–804 (1992).
Rich, R. M. in Galaxy Evolution: The Milky Way Perspective (ed. Majewski, S. R.) 65–82 (ASP Conf. Ser. Vol. 49, Astr. Soc. Pacif., San Francisco, 1993).
Morris, M. & Serabyn, E. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 34, 645–701 (1996).
Harmon, R. & Gilmore, G. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 235, 1025–1047 (1988).
Lindqvist, M., Habing, H. J. & Winnberg, A. Astron. Astrophys. 259, 118–127 (1992).
Becklin, E. E. & Neugebauer, G. Astrophys. J. 151, 145–161 (1968).
Catchpole, R. M., Whitelock, P. A. & Glass, I. S. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 247, 479–490 (1990).
Bahcall, J. N., Schmidt, M. & Soniera, R. M. Astrophys. J. 258, L23–L27 (1982).
Sellwood, J. A. & Sanders, R. H. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 233, 611–620 (1988).
Evans, N. W. & de Zeeuw, P. T. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 271, 202–222 (1994).
Güsten, R. in The Center of the Galaxy (ed. Morris, M.) 89–106 (IAU Symp. No. 136, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1989).
Bally, J., Stark, A. A., Wilson, R. W. & Henkel, C. Astrophys. J. 324, 223–247 (1988).
Sodroski, T. J. et al. Astrophys. J. 452, 262–268 (1995).
Stark, A. A., Gerhard, O. E., Binney, J. & Bally, J. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 248, 14p–17p (1991).
Gerhard, O. E. Rev. Mod. Astron. 5, 174–187 (1992).
Binney, J. in The Nuclei of Normal Galaxies: Lessons from the Galactic Center (eds Genzel, R. & Harris, A. I.) 75–86 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1994).
Morris, M. Astrophys. J. 408, 496–506 (1993).
Haller, J. W. et al. Astrophys. J. 456, 194–205 (1996).
Kent, S. M. Astrophys. J. 387, 181–188 (1992).
Hiromoto, N. et al. Astron. Astrophys. 139, 309–312 (1984).
Dwek, E. et al. Astrophys. J. 445, 716–730 (1995).
Little, S. J. & Price, S. D. Astron. J. 90, 1812–1819 (1985).
Rieke, M. J. in Back to the Galaxy (ed. Holt, S. S. & Verter, F.) 37–42 (Am. Inst. Phys., NewYork, 1993).
Krabbe, A. et al. Astrophys. J. 447, L95–L99 (1995).
Blum, R. D., DePoy, D. L. & Sellgren, K. Astrophys. J. 441, 603–616 (1995).
Turner, J. L., Hurt, R. L. & Hudson, D. Y. Astrophys. J. 413, L19–L22 (1993).
Weiland, J. L. et al. Astrophys. J. 425, L81–L84 (1994).
Villumsen, J. V. Astrophys. J. 290, 75–85 (1985).
Combes, F., Debbasch, F., Freidli, D. & Pfenniger, D. Astron. Astrophys. 233, 82–95 (1990).
Jenkins, A. & Binney, J. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 245, 305–317 (1990).
McGinn, M. T., Sellgren, K., Becklin, E. E. & Hall, D. N. B. Astrophys. J. 338, 824–840 (1989).
Kormendy, J. in Galactic Bulges (eds Dejonghe, H. & Habing, H.) 209–228 (IAU, Symp. No. 153, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1993).
Dressel, L. L. Astrophys. J. 329, L69–L73 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Serabyn, E., Morris, M. Sustained star formation in the central stellar cluster of the Milky Way. Nature 382, 602–604 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382602a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/382602a0
This article is cited by
-
The Fermi-LAT GeV excess as a tracer of stellar mass in the Galactic bulge
Nature Astronomy (2018)
-
Three classical Cepheid variable stars in the nuclear bulge of the Milky Way
Nature (2011)
-
X-rays reveal the Galaxy's centre
Nature (2002)
-
An extraordinary cluster of massive stars near the centre of the Milky Way
Nature (1998)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.