A new distance to the Brick, the dense molecular cloud G0.253+0.016

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dc.contributor.authorZoccali, M.
dc.contributor.authorValenti, E.
dc.contributor.authorSurot, F.
dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, O. A.
dc.contributor.authorRenzini, A.
dc.contributor.authorValenzuela Navarro, A.
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T23:54:55Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T23:54:55Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractWe analyse the near-infrared colour-magnitude diagram of a field including the giant molecular cloud G0.253+0.016 (a.k.a. The Brick) observed at high spatial resolution, with HAWK-I@VLT. The distribution of red clump stars in a line of sight crossing the cloud, compared with that in a direction just beside it, and not crossing it, allow us to measure the distance of the cloud from the Sun to be 7.20, with a statistical uncertainty of +/- 0.16 and a systematic error of +/- 0.20 kpc. This is significantly closer than what is generally assumed, i.e. that the cloud belongs to the near side of the central molecular zone, at 60 pc from the Galactic centre. This assumption was based on dynamical models of the central molecular zone, observationally constrained uniquely by the radial velocity of this and other clouds. Determining the true position of the Brick cloud is relevant because this is the densest cloud of the Galaxy not showing any ongoing star formation. This puts the cloud off by one order of magnitude from the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation between the density of the dense gas and the star formation rate. Several explanations have been proposed for this absence of star formation, most of them based on the dynamical evolution of this and other clouds, within the Galactic centre region. Our result emphasizes the need to include constraints coming from stellar observations in the interpretation of our Galaxy's central molecular zone.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.1093/mnras/stab089
dc.identifier.eissn1365-2966
dc.identifier.issn0035-8711
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab089
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/95060
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000649423200083
dc.issue.numero1
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final1252
dc.pagina.inicio1246
dc.revistaMonthly notices of the royal astronomical society
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectstars: Hertzsprung
dc.subjectRussell and colour
dc.subjectmagnitude diagrams
dc.subjectGalaxy: bulge
dc.subjectGalaxy: centre
dc.titleA new distance to the Brick, the dense molecular cloud G0.253+0.016
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen502
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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