Revealing the Large-Scale Kinematic Structure of the Galactic Center with the Roman Space Telescope

The Milky Way Galactic Center provides a unique opportunity to study resolved stellar populations within a galactic nucleus. With an unprecedented combination of a large field-of-view and high spatial resolution, the Roman Space Telescope will allow us to measure the proper motions for over 16 million stars in the inner 50 - 100 pc of the Galaxy. This lays the foundation to address key questions such as (1) How did our galactic nucleus form?; (2) What is the mass distribution in the central region of the galaxy?; (3) How do star clusters form and tidally disrupt near the Galactic Center; and (4) What is the production rate of hypervelocity stars, the long-theorized byproduct of dynamical interactions between stars and the central supermassive black hole? The Roman Space Telescope will place results from current and planned JWST, HST, and ground-based studies in the broader context of the large-scale kinematic structure of the Galactic Center.