Gamma-ray Glow from the Galactic Centre: Additional Information
The giant molecular clouds in the centre of our galaxy. The central part of our galaxy is home to several dense molecular complexes, seen here in CS line emission. These clouds contain about 50 million times the mass of the sun in the form of hydrogen molecules. (from data provided by M. Tsuboi, see Tsuboi et al. 1999, ApJ Supp. 120, 1) The red circles show the positions of the two bright gamma-ray sources.
Comparison of the gamma-ray emission (after subtracting the two bright sources) with the distribution of interstellar gas. The CS data shown in the previous picture are shown here blurred to the resolution of H.E.S.S. (green contours). The diffuse gamma-ray emission (blue) approximately follows the gas distribution. This can be seen more clearly in slices in galactic latitude and longitude through the two maps (shown underneath). The red dashed line shows the gamma-ray emission that might be expected if a cosmic-ray accelerator was active at the galactic centre 10,000 years ago.
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