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NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series

John Bally

University of Colorado

The Ecology of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ):

The Nearest Galactic Nucleus

Recent surveys are revolutionizing our understanding of the central regions of our Galaxy.   In addition to the nearest super-massive black-hole, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) contains the most massive, densest, and most turbulent molecular clouds in the Milky Way, as well as some of the most active sites of star and star cluster formation.  Yet, the rate of star formation per unit mass of dense gas is lower than in disk molecular clouds, or in extra-galactic disks. To account for these results, the Schmidt-Kennicutt relations, which prescribes the surface density of star formation to the surface density of dense gas in galactic disks, may have a second parameter such as the cloud internal velocity dispersion.    I will present a broad review of the ecology of star formation and the interstellar medium in the CMZ, and present recent results from The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS), Herschel Galactic Plane Survey (Hi-GAL), and Spitzer.
   



November 9, 2012
11:00 am

Array Operations Center Auditorium

All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson N525.

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