The Nuclei of Normal Galaxies: Lessons from the Galactic Center / Edition 1

by R. Genzel, Andrew I. Harris

Overview

Our Galactic center's proximity allows astronomers to study physical processes within galactic nuclei at a level of detail that will never be possible in the more distant, but usually also more spectacular, extragalactic systems. Recent advances in instrumentation from the radio, through the submillime­ ter and infrared wavebands, and out to the X- and "'(-ray bands now allow observations of the Galactic Center over thirteen orders of magnitude in wave­ length. Our knowledge about the central few hundred parsecs of our Galaxy has consequently increased vastly over the past decade. The same new instru­ ments provide high resolution, high quality measurements of nearby ''normal'' galactic nuclei; that is, nuclei whose modest energy output is comparable to that of our own (and most other) galaxies. Theorists, spurred in part by the new observations, have been able to refine models of the energetics, dynam­ ics, and evolution of the gas and stellar systems deep within galactic nuclei.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780792331582
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	10/31/1994
Series:	Nato Science Series C: , #445
Edition description:	1994
Pages:	499
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

Gamma-Ray Observations from the Inner Galaxy With CGRO.- Rosat Observations of Nearby Spiral Galaxies.- Large Scale Soft X-Ray Images of the Galactic Centre.- The 511 keV Line and the Great Annihilator.- Large-Scale Radio Structures in the Galactic Center.- High Frequency Radio Observations of Polarized Emission in the Galactic Center.- Observations and Modelling of Gas Dynamics in External Galaxies.- Evidence for a Bar at the Centre of the Milky Way.- Radial Velocities of M-Giants at 300 PC Projected Radius from the Galactic Center.- What Do OH/IR Stars Tell Us about the Dynamics of the Central Parts of the Galaxy.- Dense Molecular Clouds in the Galactic Center Region.- The Origin of Noncircular Gas Motions in the Galactic Center.- CO Emission from Massive Molecular Clouds in the Inner Disk of M31.- Dynamics of Molecular Clouds in the Inner 200 PC of the Galaxy.- Molecules in Starburst and Active Galaxy Nuclei.- Small Scale Molecular Structure in the Nuclei of Nearby Spiral Galaxies: IC 342.- Imaging The Gas and Dust in the Nucleus of NGC 1068: Evidence for a Highly Extended Obscuring Agent.- The Nucleus of NGC 253: The Role of Dust.- High-Resolution Near Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy of NGC 1808: Probing the Starburst.- Nuclear ISM: Feeding the Galactic Nucleus.- The Connection of the Sgr a East Core with M-0.13-0.08 and the CND.- Morphology and Kinematics of the Molecular, Atomic, and Ionized Gas in the Inner Seven Parsecs of the Galaxy.- Modelling the Circumnuclear Disk in the Galactic Centre.- CO and HI Observations of High Negative Velocity Gas Towards the Galactic Centre.- Magnetic Phenomena.- The Magnetic Field in the Dust Ring and Northern Arm of Sgr a West.- The Magnetic Field at the Galactic Center: Detection of HI Zeeman Splitting.- Luminous Objects within 100 PC of the Galactic Centre.- The Discovery of Hot Stars in the Vicinity of the Thermal Filaments.- Spectroscopy of The Galactic Center Arches Region: Evidence for Massive Star Formation.- Far-Infrared Emission from the Thermal Arched Filaments.- Far-Infrared Observations of the Center of the Galaxy.- Far-Infrared Line Observations of Center of the Sgr a West.- The Ages of Elliptical Galaxies.- Dynamics and Evolution of Dense Galactic Nuclei.- Stellar Population and Comparison with Other Galaxies.- The Central Stellar Cluster.- Diffraction Limited Near-Infrared Imaging of the Galactic Center.- The Nature of the GC HEI Emission Line Stars.- Properties and Evolution of the Central Stellar Cluster.- Dynamics of Dense Stellar Systems Including the Effects of Stellar Collisions.- MID-Infrared (4.8–12.4 AND 20.0 µm) Images of the Galactic Center: Modeling the Energetics and Morphology of the Central Parsec.- Mosaiced H and K Images of the Galactic Center Region.- The IRS 16 Complex: The Importance of Stellar Winds at the Galactic Center.- The Galactic Center [FE III] Bubble.- Steller-Dynamical Evidence for Black Holes in Galaxy.- Compact Nuclear Radio Sources in Our and External Galaxies.- Radio Observations of Sgr A*.- First Detection of Sgr A* with VLBI at 7 mm and 3 mm Wavelength.- The Spectrum, Luminosity and Morphology of Sgr A*.- A New 20 µm Upper Limit for Sgr A*.- Current Constraints to Sgr A* Mass.- An Accreting Blackhole Model for Sgr A*.- Tidal Disruption of a Star by a Massive Black Hole and Evolution of Remnant Gas.- Observations Effects of Tidally-Disrupted Stars.- The Nuclei of Normal Galaxies: Lessons from the Galactic Center.- Reminiscence.- Peter Mezger and the Development of Radio Astronomy in the U.S. and Germany, and the Discovery of RadioRecombination Lines.- Author Index.

Editorial Reviews

Proceedings of the July 1993 workshop. Knowledge of the central few hundred parsecs of our galaxy has increased vastly over the past decade, and theorists, spurred by new data, have been able to refine models of the energetics, dynamics, and evolution of the gas and stellar systems deep within galactic nuclei. More than 50 contributions address various aspects of high energy phenomena, gas and stellar dynamics, starburst and nuclei of active galaxies, the structure and energetics of the galactic center, the stars deep in the nucleus, and black hole candidates within nuclei. The conference was held to honor Peter G. Mezger, scientific director at the Max-Planck- Institut fur Radioastronomie in Bonn. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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