The Inner 2 pc of Sagittarius A*: Simulations of the Circumnuclear Disk and Multiphase Gas Accretion in the Galactic Center

Abstract

We present hydrodynamic simulations of the inner few parsecs of the Milky Way's Galactic Center that, for the first time, combine a realistic treatment of stellar winds and the circumnuclear disk as they interact with the gravitational potential of the nuclear star cluster and Sagittarius~A*. We observe a complex interaction of the stellar winds with the inner edge of the circumnuclear disk, which leads to the growth of instabilities, induced accretion of cool gas from the inner edge of the disk, and the eventual formation of a small accretion disk of $\sim 10^4-10^5$ K within $r \sim 0.1$ pc.