Dr. Eulalia Galego Cano (IAA/CSIC)
25 February 2026
11:30, Aula Piazzi
Abstract:
Understanding how stars form and evolve near a supermassive black hole remains a fundamental challenge. The Galactic Centre, containing Sagittarius A*, offers a unique laboratory, though extreme extinction and crowding have limited stellar classification to the brightest sources. We present new results from high-resolution NACO/VLT near-infrared imaging with intermediate-band filters, complemented by SINFONI spectroscopy. In the central 0.5 pc, we identify new massive young star candidates and confirm a steep increase in early-type star density toward Sgr A*, along with a top-heavy initial mass function, supporting an in-situ formation scenario. Extending beyond the central parsec to regions around 3 pc, we find a predominantly old, metal-rich population (>10 Gyr), with additional intermediate-age (2–3 Gyr) and young (~20 Myr) components. This reveals that star formation has also occurred outside the central parsec in recent times.