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| Paper: |
OH/IR Stars as Signposts for Ancient Starburst Activity in the Galactic Center |
| Volume: |
186, The Central Parsecs of the Galaxy |
| Page: |
379 |
| Authors: |
Sjouwerman, L. O.; Habing, H. J.; Lindqvist, M.; van Langevelde, H. J.; Winnberg, A. |
| Abstract: |
A recent survey has considerably increased the number of OH/IR stars known within 50 pc of the Galactic center (GC). The distribution of expansion velocities of the circumstellar shells of these stars shows an unexpectedly narrow peak around 19 km/s at the high end tail. From this, we conclude that a large fraction of stars was formed in an epoch of enhanced star formation at least one Gyr ago. Thus one can distinguish three different groups of stars in the direction of the GC: an old bulge-like population, a group of relatively young stars formed from continuously infalling gas, and a shrinking population of low-mass stars that formed in an isolated era---probably in a starburst. |
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