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From figer@gc.astro.ucla.edu
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Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 12:27:26 -0700
To: gcnews@aoc.nrao.edu
From: "Don F. Figer" <figer@gc.astro.ucla.edu>
Subject: submit abstarct of arches.tex to appear in Nature
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\lefthead{Serabyn et al.}
\righthead{An extraordinary cluster}
\begin{document}

\title{An extraordinary cluster of massive young stars in the \\
Milky Way's nucleus}

\author{E. Serabyn\altaffilmark{1},
D. Shupe\altaffilmark{2}, D. F. Figer\altaffilmark{3}}

\authoremail{figer@astro.ucla.edu}

\altaffiltext{1}{California Institute of Technology, MS 320-47,
Pasadena, CA 91125}

\altaffiltext{2}{Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
Technology,
MS 171-113, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109}

\altaffiltext{3}{Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
90095}

\begin{abstract}
The mass distribution of newborn stars (the stellar initial mass
function, or IMF) is key to the evolution of galaxies, as it determines
whether a galaxy's interstellar medium is funneled predominantly into dim,
long-lived, low-mass stars, as is the case in normal galactic disks, or
into bright, short-lived, massive stars, as is perhaps the case in
``starburst'' nuclei. Our own Galactic nucleus is not a
full-fledged starburst, but its star-formation rate per volume is
nevertheless well above that of the Galactic disk (by  a factor of
$\sim 10^3$). Even so, the Milky Way's nuclear IMF remains uncertain,
because high obscuration and the large background population of bright,
elderly giant stars have impeded the detection of normal hydrogen-burning
(or ``main-sequence'') stars. Our high-resolution infrared observations of
a compact stellar cluster in the nucleus now reveal the presence of
numerous young, massive main sequence stars, several of which may number
among the Galaxy's most massive. Dwarfing all other known young Galactic
clusters, the ``Arches'' cluster may in fact be a weaker analog of the
``super star-clusters'' found in starburst nuclei.
\end{abstract}

\end{document}
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Don F. Figer			http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~figer/intro.html
Division of Astronomy		figer@astro.ucla.edu
Box 951562			310-825-7396
LA, CA 90095-1562		310-206-7254 (F)

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