Galactic centre: gas inflow and star formation

Mattia Sormani

Wednesday December 2nd, 15:00

The Milky Way’s central molecular zone (CMZ, R<200pc) has emerged in the last years as a unique laboratory for the study of star formation. I will present results from our recent hydrodynamical simulations with star formation and supernova feedback, which resolve the structure of the interstellar medium at sub-parsec resolution while also including the large-scale Galactic flow in which the CMZ is embedded. I will discuss new insights on the following topics: (1) The spatial and temporal distribution of star formation in the CMZ; (2) The morphology and three-dimensional geometry of the CMZ gas; (3) The bar-driven inflow (from the Galactic disc at R~3kpc down to the CMZ at R~200pc), which fuels the star formation in our Galactic nucleus; (4) The nuclear inflow (from the CMZ inwards towards the innermost ~few pc), which builds a molecular gas reservoir that may be critical for fuelling the supermassive black-hole SgrA*; (5) The trajectories of newly born stars and the origin of the Arches and Quintuplet clusters.