Unveiling the Secrets of Sagittarius C

New research leveraging a 2023 image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is providing unprecedented insights into the Sagittarius C stellar nursery, a region teeming with gas and dust near the Milky way’s center. The observations reveal the powerful influence of magnetic fields on star formation, suggesting they may be suppressing stellar birth rates in this area.

A Starvation of Stars: The Central Molecular Zone Mystery

For years, scientists have been puzzled by the relatively low number of stars forming in the dense clouds of gas and dust within the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), the region surrounding the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Astrophysicists are now using the JWST to understand why.

Astrophysicist John Bally notes the central question: why dense clouds of gas and dust in this region produce so few stars. The new findings point to a potential answer: strong magnetic fields.

Seeing Through the Dust

The JWST’s advanced infrared capabilities are crucial for peering through the dense clouds that obscure star-forming regions. Infrared light,unlike visible light,can penetrate these clouds,allowing astronomers to observe the processes within [2].

Samuel Crowe,a lead researcher,emphasizes that this work builds upon previous observations from telescopes such as ALMA and MeerKAT. These combined observations provide a more complete picture of the complex dynamics at play.

Giants in the Making

Researchers have confirmed earlier findings from ALMA, indicating that two massive stars are actively forming within Sagittarius C’s brightest cluster.Data from NASA’s Spitzer Telescope, the SOFIA mission, the Herschel Observatory, and the JWST were analyzed to determine that these protostars are each more than 20 times the mass of the sun.

The JWST also uncovered radiant outflows emanating from these massive protostars, further highlighting the energetic processes involved in their formation.

Hidden Gems: Hunting for Smaller Stars

Studying low-mass protostars presents a greater challenge, as they tend to remain deeply embedded within dust clouds. By comparing JWST data with ALMA observations, the research team identified five likely candidates for low-mass protostars.

Jets of youth: Signatures of Star Birth

The team’s observations also revealed 88 signs of shocked hydrogen gas, a telltale indication of jets released by young stars. This discovery led to the identification of a new star-forming cloud, distinct from Sagittarius C, which hosts at least two protostars with active jets.

The Force is Strong: Magnetic Influence on Star Formation

The 2023 JWST image of Sagittarius C revealed numerous striking filaments in a hot hydrogen plasma region near the main star-forming cloud. Researchers propose that magnetic fields, previously observed by ALMA and MeerKAT, are responsible for shaping these filaments.

The tidal forces exerted by the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, may stretch and amplify surrounding magnetic fields, confining plasma into concentrated filaments. These strong magnetic fields might also counteract gravitational collapse, thereby suppressing star formation and explaining the unexpectedly low birth rate of stars in Sagittarius C [1].

The findings suggest that strong magnetic fields may suppress star formation, even on small scales.

John Bally, Astrophysicist

A New Era of Discovery

This discovery paves the way for future investigations into how magnetic fields influence stellar formation and ecosystem dynamics, not only in our galaxy but also in others. Such research has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of star formation in extreme environments.

These observations provide vital insights into star formation in the galaxy’s Central Molecular Zone and mark an vital breakthrough in understanding cosmic processes.

Journal References

• John Bally, Samuel Crowe, Rubén Fedriani, Adam Ginsburg, Rainer Schödel, Morten Andersen, Jonathan C. Tan, Zhi-Yun Li, Francisco Nogueras-Lara, Yu Chenget al. The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. II. Evidence for Magnetically Dominated H ii Regions in the Central Molecular Zone. the Astrophysical Journal. DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d0b
• Samuel Crowe, Rubén Fedriani, Jonathan C.Tan, Alva Kinman, Yichen Zhang, Morten Andersen, Lucía Bravo Ferres, Francisco Nogueras-Lara, Rainer Schödel, John Bally et al.The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows. The Astrophysical Journal. DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ad8889