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Paper: |
On the Origin of Hypervelocity Stars |
Volume: |
439, The Galactic Center: a Window to the Nuclear Environment of Disk Galaxies |
Page: |
254 |
Authors: |
Yu, Q.; Lu, Y. |
Abstract: |
Hypervelocity stars (HVSs) moving in the Galactic halo are mainly B-type stars
with origin of their progenitors unknown. OB stars are also populated in the
Galactic Center (GC), with many being hosted in a clockwise rotating young
stellar (CWS) disk within half a parsec from the central massive black hole
(MBH) and their formation remaining puzzles. We find that the majority of the
detected HVSs are spatially correlated with the plane of the stellar disk. By
demonstrating that HVSs can well memorize the injecting direction of their
progenitors, we conclude that most of the HVSs probably originate from the CWS
disk. Our results not only confirm the GC origin of HVSs but also imply that
the central disk should persist or be frequently rejuvenated over the past 200
Myr, which adds a new challenge to the stellar disk formation and provides
insights to the longstanding problem of gas fueling into MBHs. A future survey
of HVSs in the southern hemisphere will provide a check for the origin of HVSs. |
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