DISCOVERY OF MASSIVE YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS IN THE GALACTIC CENTER WITH WARM CO$_2$ GAS ABSORPTION

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We report the detection of several molecular gas-phase and ice absorption features in three photometrically-selected young stellar object (YSOs) candidates in the central 280~pc of the Milky Way. Our spectra, obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) onboard the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}, reveal gas-phase absorption from CO2 (15.0 μm), C2H2 (13.7 μm) and HCN (14.0 μm). We attribute this absorption to warm, dense gas in the massive YSOs. We also detect strong and broad 15.2 μm CO2 ice absorption features, with an absorption profile indicating the presence of thermally processed CO2 ice. Our IRS observations demonstrate the youth of these objects, and provide the first spectroscopic identification of massive YSOs in the Galactic Center.

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Author Institution: IPAC/CALTECH; OHIO STATE U.; CALTECH; NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER; SETI INSTITUTE; ST. ANDREWS U., UK; OBS. BESANCON, FRANCE; HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS; SPITZER SCIENCE CENTER, CALTECH

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