Recent observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory have provided us with the capability to discriminate point sources , such as the supermassive black hole Sgr A* , from the diffuse emission within the inner 10 ^ { \prime \prime } of the Galaxy .
The hot plasma producing the diffuse X-radiation , estimated at \approx 7.6 \times 10 ^ { 31 } ergs s ^ { -1 } arcsec ^ { -2 } in the 2–10 keV band , has a RMS electron density \approx 26 cm ^ { -3 } and a temperature kT \approx 1.3 keV , with a total inferred mass of \approx 0.1 M _ { \odot } .
At least some of this gas must be injected into the ISM via stellar winds .
In the most recent census , about 25 bright , young stars have been identified as the dominant sources of the overall mass efflux from the Galactic center .
In this paper , we use detailed 3-dimensional SPH simulations to study the wind-wind interactions occurring in the inner 3 parsecs of the Galaxy , with a goal of understanding what fraction , if any , of the diffuse X-ray flux measured by Chandra results from the ensuing shock heating of the ambient medium .
We conclude that this process alone can account for the entire X-ray flux observed by Chandra in the inner 10 ^ { \prime \prime } of the Galaxy .
Understanding the X-ray morphology of the environment surrounding Sgr A* will ultimately provide us with a greater precision in modeling the accretion of gas onto this object , which appears to be relatively underluminous compared to its brethren in the nuclei of other galaxies .