Dust destruction and kinematics in the Galactic Center

We present observations of the 34.815 micron (SiII) line and continuum emission from the inner few parsecs of the Galaxy obtained with the KAO Echelle Grating Spectrograph (KEGS) in June 1993. The SiII emission, which has been spectrally resolved at 64 km/s and spatially resolved at 10 arcsec, in kinematically consistent with the motions of ionized and neutral gas interior to the circumnuclear disk (CND). In addition, the emission in the (SiII) line as well as the continuum extends northward along the 'northern arm' past the inner edge of the CND. A peak in the (SiII) line/continuum ratio is observed at approx. 25 arcsec W and 75 arcsec N of Sgr A* with a large velocity dispersion. This may be an indication of dust destruction via cloud-cloud collisions.