The nature of IRS 13N: YSOs in the central parsec of the galaxy?

Abstract

IRS13N is a small (∼0.25’’ projected diameter), compact group of sources located ∼3.5’’ from Sgr A* and ∼0.5’’ north from the well known IRS 13E cluster. The sources exhibit strong infrared excess due to warm dust, with colors that are consistent with colors of extremely young objects. We present proper motion measurements for the IRS 13N cluster based on multi-epoch 3.8 μm observations of the Galactic Center with NACO/VLT. Our measurements reveal a new co-moving group of stars, whose dynamical youth speaks in favor of the YSO hypothesis. The confirmation of the existence of such young stars in the Galactic Center would have profound implications on our understanding of star formation close to Sgr A* and to massive black holes in general.