VLTI/MIDI measurements of extended mid-infrared emission in the Galactic Center

Abstract

We investigated with MIDI the extension of dusty mid-infrared excess sources (IRS 1W, IRS 10W, IRS 2, IRS 8) in immediate vicinity to the black hole (BH) at the GC. We derive 3$σ$ upper limits of the correlated fluxes of our target sources which give direct constraints on the size of the emitting regions. Most probably the emission originates from bow shocks generated by windy stars ploughing through the dense matter of the Northern MiniSpiral.

2 pages, to be published in the proceedings of the ESO workshop: "The power of optical/IR interferometry: recent scientific results and 2nd generation VLTI instrumentation"