ALBERT

Description: Context. We find an extended source in the direct vicinity of Sgr A* with an approximate projected mean distance of 425 ± 26 mas. Its sky-projected elongated shape can be described by an averaged spatial extension of x = 110 ± 20 mas and y = 180 ± 20 mas. With this, the observed object points in the analyzed SINFONI data sets between 2006 and 2016 directly toward the supermassive black hole. We discuss different possible scenarios that could explain the detected blueshifted line emission source. Aims. Here we present a detailed and extensive analysis of the adaptive optics corrected SINFONI data between 2006 and 2016 with a spatial pixel scale of 0.″025 and a corresponding field of view of 0.″8 × 0.″8 per single data cube with the focus on the newly discovered source. We spectroscopically identify the source, which we name X8, in the blueshifted Brγ line maps. Additionally, an upper limit for the continuum magnitude can be derived from the close-by S-star S41. Methods. We applied the standard reduction procedure with the SINFONI/EsoRex pipeline for the analysis. We applied pre- and post-data correction in order to establish various calibration procedures. For the sharpened images, we used the Lucy–Richardson algorithm with a low iteration number. For the high-pass filtered images, we used the smooth-subtracting process in order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Results. We are able to detect the elongated line emission source in quantified data sets between 2006 and 2016. We find a lower limit for the infrared continuum magnitude of Ks ≳ 17.0 ± 0.1. The alignment of X8 toward Sgr A* can be detected in data sets that fulfill a sufficient number of observations with a defined quality level. A more detailed analysis of the results shows indications of a bipolar outflow source that might be associated with either a young stellar object, or with a post-AGB star or young planetary nebula. Conclusions. The near-infrared excess source X8 close to S24, S25, and S41 can be detected between 2006 and 2016. In addition to an apparent bow-shock morphology, the source shows clear signatures of a bipolar outflow that is consistent with both a young stellar object and a post-AGB star. If confirmed, this would be the closest ever detected bipolar outflow source to the supermassive black hole. Similar to the case of the DSO/G2 source and other dusty sources, it further supports the in situ star formation in the direct vicinity of Sgr A*. If X8 were a bow-shock source, it would be the third object of this type that can be found in projection in the mini-cavity. This scenario would support the idea that the cavity is created by a wind from Sgr A*.

Description: Context. Several dusty infrared sources traced on their orbits around Sgr A* with SINFONI and NACO mounted at the VLT/Chile show near-infrared (NIR) excess and Doppler-shifted line emission. We investigate these sources in order to clarify their nature and compare their relationship to other observed NIR objects close to Sgr A*. Aims. Using SINFONI, we are able to determine the spectroscopic properties of the dusty infrared sources. Furthermore, we can extract spatial and velocity information of these objects. We are able to identify X7, X7.1, X8, G1, DSO/G2, D2, D23, D3, D3.1, D5, and D9 in the Doppler-shifted line maps of the SINFONI H + K data. From our K- and L′-band NACO data, we derive the related magnitudes of the brightest sources located west of Sgr A*. Methods. For determining the line of sight velocity information and to investigate single emission lines, we used the near-infrared integral field spectrograph SINFONI datasets between 2005 and 2015. For the kinematic analysis, we used NACO datasets from the years between 2002 and 2018. This study was done in the H, Ks, and L′ band. From the 3D SINFONI data-cubes, we extracted line maps in order to derive positional information for the sources. In the NACO images, we identified the dusty counterpart of the objects. When possible, we determined the Keplerian orbits and applied a photometric analysis. Results. The spectrum of the investigated objects show a Doppler-shifted Brγ and HeI line emission. For some objects west of Sgr A*, we additionally find [FeIII] line emission that can be clearly distinguished from the background. A one-component blackbody model fits the extracted near-infrared flux for the majority of the investigated objects, with the characteristic dust temperature of 500 K. The photometric derived H- and KS-band magnitudes are between magH 〉  22.5 and magk = 18.1+0.3−0.8 for the dusty sources. For the H-band magnitudes we can provide an upper limit. For the bright dusty sources D2, D23, and D3, the Keplerian orbits are elliptical with a semi-major axis of aD2 = (749 ± 13) mas, aD23 = (879 ± 13), and aD3 = (880 ± 13) mas. For the DSO/G2, a single-temperature and a two-component blackbody model is fitted to the H-, K-, L′-, and M-band data, while the two-component model that consists of a star and an envelope fits its SED better than an originally proposed single-temperature dusty cloud. Conclusions. The spectroscopic analysis indicates that the investigated objects could be dust-embedded pre-main-sequence stars. The Doppler-shifted [FeIII] line can be spectroscopically identified in several sources that are located between 17:45:40.05 and 17:45:42.00 in Dec However, the sources with a DEC less than 17:45:40.05 show no [FeIII] emission. Therefore, these two groups show different spectroscopic features that could be explained by the interaction with a non-spherical outflow that originates at the position of Sgr A*. Following this, the hot bubble around Sgr A* consists out of isolated sources with [FeIII] line emission that can partially account for the previously detected [FeIII] distribution on larger scales.