Local heating in the Galactic center western arc

We present arcsecond resolution, 10.8, 11.7, and 18.2 mum images of the central few parsecs of the Galaxy. These images show for the first time the clumpiness of the dust in the western arc. The 11.7 and 18.2 mum images of part of the western arc were used to evaluate the dust temperature and optical depth distribution of this region. We see several mid-infrared emission peaks that coincide with dust temperature peaks and regions of low optical depth, and we infer the presence of embedded sources in the western arc. Minimum luminosity estimates for two of these sources (5 x 10(4) L(.) and 2 x 10(4) L(.)) suggest that the circumnuclear ring is being locally heated by relatively young stars.