Impulsive gas fueling to the galactic center in a barred galaxy due to falls of gas clouds

Abstract

We have studied the evolution of the central hundred parsec region of barred galaxies by performing numerical simulations realizing the multi-phase nature of gas. Our simulations have shown that a stellar bar produces an oval gas ring, namely the x-2 ring, within 1 kpc as the bar grows. The ring is self-gravitationally unstable enough to trigger the formation of gas clouds. Although the gas clouds initially rotate in the x-2 ring, cloud–cloud collisions and$/$or energy injections into the gas ring by Type II supernovae causes some of the clouds to deviate from the ring orbit. After the deviation, the deviated clouds repeat collisions with the other clouds, which rotate in the x-2 ring, during several rotations. These processes effectively reduce the angular momentum of the deviated gas cloud. As a result, the gas cloud finally falls into the galactic center, and episodic gas supply to the galactic center takes place.