A Correlation Between The Sio and The Fe 6.4 Kev Line Emission From The Galactic Center

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A&A manuscript no.

ASTRONOMY
(will be inserted by hand later) AND
Your thesaurus codes are: ASTROPHYSICS
09 (09.03.1; 09.13.2;); 10.03.1; 13 (13.19.1; 13.25.4)
October 29, 2018

A correlation between the SiO and the Fe 6.4 keV line emission from
the Galactic center
J. Martı́n-Pintado, P. de Vicente, N. J. Rodrı́guez-Fernández, A. Fuente, and P. Planesas
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (IGN), Campus Universitario, Apdo. 1143, E-28800 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
arXiv:astro-ph/0003063v1 6 Mar 2000

Received, 2000; accepted, 2000

Abstract. One of the most interesting results of the X-ray ob- shows emission only towards the Sgr A and Sgr B complexes
servations with the ASCA satellite of the Galactic center (GC) (Koyama et al., 1996).
is the spatial distribution and the intensity of the Fe line at 6.4 The Fe◦ line emission is caused by fluorescence and ap-
keV. Up to now the morphology and the intensity of this line pears when neutral cold molecular clouds are exposed to a
have been a puzzle. In this letter we present a map of the GC strong source of hard X-rays. In X-ray irradiated molecular
in the J=1→0 line of SiO covering the same region than the clouds like those in the GC, it is expected that the X-rays
ASCA observations. The SiO emission is restricted to molec- will influence the heating, the ionization and the chemistry of
ular clouds with radial velocity between 10 and 60 km s−1 in these clouds (see e.g. Hollenbach et al., 1997). It is well known
the Sgr A and Sgr B complexes. We find a correlation between that the physical conditions and the chemistry of the molecular
the SiO morphology and the spatial distribution of the Fe 6.4 clouds in the GC differ substantially from those in the galactic
keV line, on the large scale and also within Sgr A and Sgr B. disk (see e.g. Morris & Serabyn, 1996). High gas kinetic tem-
>
The SiO abundance increases by a factor of ∼20 in the regions perature (Huettemeister et al., 1993), and large abundance of
with strong Fe 6.4 keV line. This indicates that the Fe 6.4 keV SiO are typical in the GC (Minh et al., 1992; Martin-Pintado
line mainly arises from molecular clouds with large gas phase et al., 1997; Huettemeister et al., 1998). The origin of these un-
abundance of refractory elements. We discuss the implications usual characteristics is unclear, but it is believed to be due to
of the correlation on the origin of the hard X-rays, and the heat- strong shocks in the GC (Wilson et al., 1982; Martin-Pintado
ing and the chemistry of the molecular clouds in the GC. et al., 1997). In this letter we present a correlation between the
SiO radio emission and the Fe◦ line, suggesting that X-rays
Key words: Galaxy: center – ISM: clouds – ISM: X-rays– may play an important role in the heating and the chemistry of
ISM: molecules – Radiolines: ISM the GC molecular clouds.

2. Observations and results

1. Introduction The mapping of the J=1→0 line of SiO was carried out with
the 14-m radio telescope at the Centro Astronómico de Yebes in
The Galactic center (GC) is a strong source of diffuse X-ray Guadalajara (Spain). The telescope characteristics, the receiver,
emission in the 2-10 keV energy range and in lines from sev- the backend, and the mapping procedure have been described
eral ions (Kawai et al., 1988; Sunyaev et al., 1993; Koyama in Martı́n-Pintado et al. (1997). The aperture efficiency of the
et al., 1996; Koyama et al., 1996; Sidoli and Mereghetti, 1999). telescope at low elevation has been improved by a factor of 1.5
Recently, the ASCA satellite mapped the X-ray emission from due to a shaped subreflector that corrects for the large scale
the GC (Koyama et al., 1989). One of the most interesting re- gravitational deformations in the main reflector (Garrido et al.,
sults is the spatial distribution and the intensity of the iron Kα 1999). The new SiO map, that contains the data by (Martin-
lines. The Fe Kα lines of highly ionized ions (He-like at ∼6.70 Pintado et al., 1997), has been extended to cover the region
keV and H-like at ∼6.97 keV) arise from hot gas with temper- observed with the ASCA satellite. The integrated intensity map
atures of ∼9 keV. This emission is concentrated towards Sgr of the J=1→0 line, obtained with 2′ resolution, is shown in Fig.
A-West and symmetrically distributed along the galactic plane 1a.
with a spatial distribution similar to that of the radio contin- Figures 1b and 1c show the spatial distribution of the Fe◦
uum emission and the molecular clouds (Maeda and Koyama, line (Koyama et al., 1996) and of the integrated intensity of the
1996). This is in sharp contrast with the Kα line from neutral or J=2→1 line of CS (Bally et al., 1987) obtained with angular
low ionized Fe atoms at ∼6.40 keV (hereafter Fe◦ line) which resolutions of 2′ and 3′ respectively. The spatial distribution of
the SiO integrated intensity is different from that of CS. While
Send offprint requests to: J. Martı́n-Pintado the CS integrated intensity is relatively smooth with a moderate
2 Martı́n-Pintado et al.: A correlation between the SiO and the Fe 6.4 keV line emission from the Galactic center

Fig. 1. a-c) Spatial distribution of the integrated emission of the SiO J=1→0 line, of the Fe◦ line (Koyama et al 1997) and of
the CS J=2→1 line (Bally et al. 1987) in the GC. The velocity range used to calculate the integrated intensity for SiO and CS
was −100 to 100 km s−1 . The contour levels are from 10 to 100 K km s−1 in steps of 10 K km s−1 for the SiO map, and 15
to 150 K km s−1 in steps of 15 K km s−1 for the CS map. For the Fe◦ map the contour levels (in 10−6 counts/sec/0.106 min2 )
are 0.25 and 0.4 to 1 by 0.1. The dots in Fig. 1a show the location where the SiO spectra were taken. d-e) Comparison of the
averaged line profiles of the J=1→0 line of SiO and of the J=2→1 line of CS for Sgr A and Sgr B respectively for the regions
with and without Fe◦ emission. The areas used to obtain the averaged spectra towards Sgr A and Sgr B are shown in Fig. 1a by
parallel lines at constant Declination. The region with Fe◦ emission has been defined using a threshold intensity for this line of
0.25×10−6 counts/sec/0.106 min2 .

increase by a factor of ∼< 3 towards the molecular cloud com- the presence of SiO emission towards the radio-Arc at ℓ ∼0.18◦
plexes Sgr A (ℓ ∼0 ), Sgr B (ℓ ∼0.6◦) and Sgr C (ℓ ∼−0.5◦),

where the Fe◦ line is not detected. We do not find, however, the
the SiO emission mainly arises from Sgr A and Sgr B. To show opposite situation, i. e. strong Fe◦ without SiO emission.
that the difference between the CS and the SiO emission cannot There is also an overall correlation between the Fe◦ and the
be due to dynamic range problems in the SiO map, the contour SiO emissions within Sgr A and Sgr B. This is illustrated in
levels in the CS map have been chosen to be a factor 1.5 of Fig. 1d and 1e, where we show the spectra of the SiO and the
those in the SiO map. Furthermore, the SiO emission from Sgr CS emission averaged over Sgr A and Sgr B (see Fig. 1a) for
A and Sgr B increases with respect to the surrounding clouds the regions with and without emission in the Fe 6.4 keV line.
>
by a factor of ∼8. The fine scale of the SiO and CS integrated While the CS line intensity is independent (within a factor of
line intensities also show important differences within the Sgr < ◦
∼2) of the spatial distribution of the Fe emission, the SiO line
A and Sgr B complexes (Martin-Pintado et al., 1997). intensity changes by a factor of ∼ > 10 ( > 20 for integrated inten-

sities) between the regions with and without Fe◦ line emission.
In the regions with emission in the Fe◦ line, we find that
3. The correlation between the SiO abundance and the the line profiles of SiO and CS are different. The SiO emission
fluorescence Fe◦ line mainly appears in the molecular clouds with radial velocities
On large scales the morphology of the SiO emission shows a between 10 and 60 km s−1 (hereafter 40 km s−1 clouds). To-
remarkable correlation with that of the Fe◦ line (Fig. 1b). Both wards Sgr B we do not detect SiO emission from the CS clouds
emissions are only detected towards Sgr A and Sgr B, but not with radial velocities between 70 and 110 km s−1 (hereafter
towards Sgr C. Given the different requirements for the exci- 90 km s−1 clouds).
tation of the SiO and the Fe◦ lines, departures from this corre- Fig. 2 shows the ratio between the integrated line inten-
lation are also found. The main exception to the correlation is sity of the SiO and the CS emission (hereafter the SiO/CS
Martı́n-Pintado et al.: A correlation between the SiO and the Fe 6.4 keV line emission from the Galactic center 3

decreases to ∼< 5×10−11 for the molecular clouds without Fe◦

line emission like Sgr C and for the 90 km s−1 clouds in the
regions with strong Fe◦ line in Sgr B. This low SiO abundance
suggests that the bulk of the Fe◦ line arises only from the 40
km s−1 molecular clouds. Therefore, ∼60% of the mass in Sgr
B, that with SiO emission, contributes to the Fe◦ line. This es-
timate is in agreement with the results obtained from the mod-
eling of the Fe◦ line intensity in Sgr B which requires that 50%
of the mass contributes to the Fe◦ line (Murakami et al., 2000).
In summary, the Fe◦ line emission in the GC arises from the
molecular clouds with large gas phase abundance of refractory
elements like SiO.

4. Discussion
The relationship between the SiO abundance and the presence
of the Fe◦ line opens the possibility to understand the origin
of SiO in gas phase and that of the Fe◦ line in the GC. The
molecular clouds with emission in the Fe◦ line always seem to
Fig. 2. The ratio between the integrated line intensity of SiO have enhanced abundance of SiO in gas phase. The simplest
and CS towards Sgr B as a function of the Fe◦ line intensity in explanation could be that this association is related to a metal
units of 10−6 counts/sec/0.106 min2 . The filled and the open abundance larger than solar in some molecular clouds as indi-
triangles are for the 40 and the 90 km s−1 clouds respectively. cated by modeling of the Fe◦ line intensity in Sgr B (Murakami
The error bars shows the range of variation of the SiO/CS ratio et al., 2000). Metal enriched molecular clouds in the GC could
within the region with strong Fe◦ emission. also have more Si in gas phase which would be completely
converted into SiO (Herbst et al., 1989). However, changes in
the cosmic abundance from cloud to cloud seem to be unlikely
ratio) for the 40 km s−1 clouds (filled triangles) and for the since the metallicity in the hot diffuse component is rather ho-
90 km s−1 clouds (open triangle) as a function of the inten- mogeneous over the 1◦ ×1◦ region around the GC (Maeda and
sity of the Fe◦ line for Sgr B. For the regions without or weak Koyama, 1996).
< 0.25×10−6 counts/sec/0.106 min2 ) Fe◦ line emission, we do
(∼ A common origin for the X-rays and the large SiO abun-
not detect the SiO line and derive an upper limit to the SiO/CS dance in gas phase and/or a peculiar chemistry induced by X-
ratio of 4×10−2 . The SiO/CS ratio increases by more than a rays could both explain the correlation. The origin of the X-
factor of 20 in the region with the strongest Fe◦ line emission. rays producing the Fe◦ line in the GC is unclear (Koyama et al.,
There is a weak increase of the SiO/CS ratio with the intensity 1996; Sunyaev and Churazov, 1998). The relatively large abun-
of the Fe◦ line for intensities of >0.25×10−6 counts/sec/0.106 dance of SiO and its spatial distribution in the GC clouds can
min2 . However, this change is marginal, since it is within the be explained by an increase of Si or SiO in gas phase due to
scatter in the SiO/CS ratios (see Fig. 2). The SiO emission is grain processing by shocks (Martin-Pintado et al., 1997; Huet-
not detected for the 90 km s−1 clouds independently of the Fe◦ temeister et al., 1998). It is possible that the sources driving the
line intensity. The upper limit to the SiO/CS ratio for these strong shocks responsible for the grain destruction also gen-
clouds in Sgr B is 6×10−2, similar to that derived for the erate the hard X-ray emission which excite the Fe◦ line. This
molecular clouds without Fe◦ line emission. could be the case for Sgr A where an explosion in Sgr A East,
The differences between the CS J=2→1 and the SiO which is now expanding inside the 50 km s−1 cloud, has been
J=1→0 lines cannot be due to excitation effects since both proposed as the origin of the high-energy activity in this region
transitions have similar rotational constants and similar critical (Yusef-Zadeh et al., 1997).
densities. Opacity effects can also be ruled out since the two For the Sgr B cloud, it has been argued that the Fe◦ line
lines show similar optical depths (Huettemeister et al., 1998). cannot be excited by the hot plasma since the observed X-ray
Therefore, the difference between the CS and the SiO emission luminosity is one order of magnitude smaller than the required
is due to changes in the SiO abundance relative to that of CS to account for that observed in the Fe◦ line. Therefore it has
(Martin-Pintado et al., 1997). Changes in the CS abundance are been proposed that this complex is a X-ray reflection nebula
unlikely since the spatial distribution of CS is similar to that of illuminated by a time variable source(s) of hard X-rays located
13
CO (Bally et al., 1987). For a CS fractional abundance of outside the neutral cool material (Koyama et al., 1996). It is
∼5×10−9 and the typical physical conditions in the GC clouds possible that a burst of X-rays that occurred hundreds of years
(H2 density of ∼5×104 cm−3 and a kinetic temperature of ago from the Sgr A region (likely from Sgr A*) now irradi-
40-200 K), the SiO abundance in the 40 km s−1 clouds for the ates the Sgr B molecular complex (Koyama et al., 1996; Sun-
region with Fe◦ line emission is ∼10−9. The SiO abundance yaev and Churazov, 1998). In the X-ray reflection nebula sce-
4 Martı́n-Pintado et al.: A correlation between the SiO and the Fe 6.4 keV line emission from the Galactic center

nario, the heating, ionization and the chemistry of the molecu- Kawai, N., Fenimore, E. E., Middleditch, J., Cruddace, R. G., Fritz,
lar clouds will be influenced by the illuminating X-rays (Mal- G. G., Snyder, W. A., and Ulmer, M. P., 1988, ApJ 330, 130
oney et al., 1996). Molecular clouds irradiated by X-rays con- Koyama, K., Awaki, H., Kunieda, H., Takano, S., and Tawara, Y.,
tain regions of high temperature where reactions with activa- 1989, Nat 339, 603
tion barriers could contribute to molecule formation (Neufeld Koyama, K., Maeda, Y., Sonobe, T., Takeshima, T., Tanaka, Y., and
Yamauchi, S., 1996, PASJ 48, 249
et al., 1994). Then, the SiO abundance in the hot regions could
Maeda, Y. and Koyama, K., 1996, in Astronomical Society of the
be enhanced if Si is in gas phase. If silicate grains smaller than Pacific Conference The Galactic Center, Astronomical Society of
10 Å are present, X-rays can evaporate these dust grains (Voit, the Pacific Conference Series, Volume 102, Manuscripts presented
1991) providing the small fraction of Si in gas phase (0.1%) at the 4th international meeting jointly organized by the Inter-
required to explain the SiO abundance in the GC molecular American Observatory (CTIO), held March 10-15, 1996 in La
clouds. Serena, Chile, San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific
It is interesting to note that the peak of the Fe◦ line in (ASP), —c1996, edited by Roland Gredel, p.423, p. 423
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molecular shells (Martı́n-Pintado et al., 1999). These shells are ApJ 466, 561
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Martin-Pintado, J., de Vicente, P., Fuente, A., and Planesas, P., 1997,
show both the Fe◦ line (see e.g. Kinugasa et al. 1999) and a
ApJ Lett. 482, L45
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any of the sources driving the hot expanding molecular shells Murakami, H., Koyama, K., Sakano, M., Tsujimoto, M., and Maeda,
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L127
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Proc. 410: Proceedings of the Fourth Compton Symposium, p.
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combination of high angular resolution maps of the hard X-
ray emission obtained with XMM and Chandra with those of
the molecular emission from refractory elements will provide
important clues about the origin of the X-ray activity and the
unusual properties of the molecular clouds in the GC.
Acknowledgements. We thank Dr. J. Bally for kindly providing the
CS data and Drs. T.L. Wilson and R. Gaume for critical reading of the
manuscript. This work has been partially supported by the Spanish
DGICYT under grants PB96-104 and 1FD97-1442. NJR-R has been
supported by the Consejerı́a de Educación y Cultura de la Comunidad
de Madrid.

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