Abstract
A massive young star cluster, initially embedded in its parent molecular cloud, will spiral into the Galactic center from ≲30m
pc during the lifetime of its most massive stars, if the combined total mass is ~106m6 M☉. On its way inward, the system loses most of its mass to the strong tidal field, until the dense cluster core of high-mass stars is finally disrupted near the central black hole. A simple model is presented to argue that this scenario may, under plausible conditions, explain the observed location and rotation of the Galactic center He I stars. Accretion of star clusters into the Galactic center could be recurrent and could play an important role in regulating the activity of Sagittarius A*.
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