2014ApJ...789L..33D

We present three-dimensional, adaptive mesh refinement simulations of G2, a cloud of gas moving in a highly eccentric orbit toward the galactic center. We assume that G2 originates from a stellar wind interacting with the environment of the Sgr A* black hole. The stellar wind forms a cometary bubble which becomes increasingly elongated as the star approaches periastron. A few months after periastron passage, streams of material begin to accrete on the central black hole with accretion rates {dot}M ∼10⁸ M_☉/yr. Predicted Brγ emission maps and position-velocity diagrams show an elongated emission resembling recent observations of G2. A large increase in luminosity is predicted by the emission coming from the shocked wind region during periastron passage. The observations, showing a constant Brγ luminosity, remain puzzling, and are explained here assuming that the emission is dominated by the free-wind region. The observed Brγ luminosity (∼8x10³⁰ erg/s) is reproduced by a model with a v_w= 50 km/s wind velocity and a 10^–7 M_☉/yr mass-loss rate if the emission comes from the shocked wind. A faster and less dense wind reproduces the Brγ luminosity if the emission comes from the inner, free-wind region. The extended cometary wind bubble, largely destroyed by the tidal interaction with the black hole, reforms a few years after periastron passage. As a result, the Brγ emission is more compact after periastron passage.