Image Details

Choose export citation format:

The Proper Motion of Sagittarius A*. II. The Mass of Sagittarius A*

  • Authors: M. J. Reid and A. Brunthaler

Reid & Brunthaler 2004 The Astrophysical Journal 616 872.

  • Provider: AAS Journals

Caption: Fig. 8.

Results of direct simulations of the motion of Sgr A*, owing to the gravitational forces of random stellar orbits, for a hypothetical cluster of stellar remnants. The stellar cluster was assumed to contain ﹩0.4\times 10^{6}﹩ M with Plummer radial distribution. The line traces the simulated rms of one component of the velocity of Sgr A* as a function of the core radius of the Plummer distribution. For core radii less than about 0.03 pc, the velocity obtained by fitting a straight line to positions over an 8 yr period, similar to our observations, is smaller than the instantaneous velocity owing to rapid fluctuations in position caused by stellar remnants with orbital periods less than 16 yr.

Other Images in This Article
Copyright and Terms & Conditions