A Dynamical Model for Gas Flows, Star Formation, and Nuclear Winds in Galactic Centres

Understand

We present a dynamical model for gas transport, star formation, and winds in the nuclear regions of galaxies, focusing on the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone (CMZ).

• In our model angular momentum and mass are transported by a combination of gravitational and bar-driven acoustic instabilities.
• In gravitationally-unstable regions the gas can form stars, and the resulting feedback drives both turbulence and a wind that ejects mass from the CMZ.
• We show that the CMZ is in a quasi-steady state where mass deposited at large radii by the bar is transported inward to a star-forming, ring-shaped region at $\sim 100$ pc from the Galactic Centre, where the shear reaches a minimum.