Gas Feeding Toward the Central Neutral Ring in the Galactic Center

Abstract

VLA observations in the (J,K)=(3,3) line of ammonia reveal new structures in the Galactic center region. An approximate ring of emission is centered on the central ionized streamers. This ring, seen previously in millimeter-wave interferometer maps, is very clumpy in the ammonia emission, with size scales ≳10″ (0.4 pc). The clumps show good spatial and velocity agreement with the ionized gas, and are warm with brightness temperatures exceeding 30 K. A comparison of the (3,3) to (1,1) ratio indicates considerably higher gas temperatures. This circumnuclear ring may not be the dominant feature in the mass distribution of the circumnuclear gas. A streamer, immediately to the south of the Galactic center, connects the gas complex at l _II = -4′ (~10 pc) directly to the Galactic center. This streamer may define the path for gas flow into the nuclear region.