How to create Sgr A East. Where did the supernova explode?

0568849 - ASÚ 2023 RIV FR eng J - Journal Article
Ehlerová, Soňa - Palouš, Jan - Morris, M. - Wünsch, Richard - Barna, B. - Vermot, Pierre
How to create Sgr A East. Where did the supernova explode?
Astronomy & Astrophysics. Roč. 668, December (2022), č. článku A124. ISSN 0004-6361. E-ISSN 1432-0746
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA19-15480S
Institutional support: RVO:67985815
Keywords : astrophysics of galaxies * supernova remnants * galaxy center
OECD category: Astronomy (including astrophysics,space science)
Impact factor: 6.5, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access

Sgr A East is the supernova remnant closest to the centre of the Milky Way. Its age has been estimated to be either very young, around 1-2 kyr, or about 10 kyr, and its exact origin remains unclear. We aspire to create a simple model of a supernova explosion that reproduces the shape, size, and location of Sgr A East. Using a simplified hydrodynamical code, we simulated the evolution of a supernova remnant in the medium around the Galactic centre. The latter consists of a nearby massive molecular cloud with which Sgr A East is known to be interacting and a wind from the nuclear star cluster. Our preferred models of the Sgr A East remnant are compatible with an age of around 10 kyr. We also find suitable solutions for older ages, but not for ages younger than 5 kyr. Our simulations predict that the supernova exploded at a distance of about 3.5 pc from the Galactic centre, below the Galactic plane, slightly eastwards from the centre and 3 pc behind it.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0340111