Talk Title: Sgr A West: a parsec-scale reservoir for accretion onto Sgr A*
Abstract: Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milkyway, is surrounded by the HII region Sgr A West, which looks in projection like a mini-spiral with three "arms". We have used high spectral resolution spectro-imaging data to analyse the velocity field of this ionized gas in a 1pc wide field, and came to the conclusion that the spiral pattern is only a projection effect. The mini-spiral is indeed made of several clouds of material, containing dust and ionized gas, and tidally stretched by the supermassive black hole. We have been able to derive an estimate of the mass of these clouds, as well as of their dynamical time-scale through a kinematic model of the main "arm". The origin and fate of this material will be discussed, in the perspective of accretion onto Sgr A*.
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