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Nebular Properties And The Ionizing Radiation Field In The Galactic Center, Joseph C. Shields, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Nebulosity in the central parsec of the Milky Way exhibits a low-ionization spectrum that has led previous analyses of this region to conclude that this material is photoionized by a relatively soft continuum. We have reanalyzed the infrared emission-line spectrum of te Galactic center in order to consider whether the data could actually be explained with photoionization by a relatively hard, yet dilute continuum, and additionally to constrain the properties of the reaiating plasma. We conclude that the composite infrared spectrum does not place strong restrictions on the nature of the ionizing continuum and that much of the ionized gas …