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Like most galaxies, the Milky Way harbors a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center, surrounded by a nuclear star cluster. In this dense star cluster, direct collisions can occur between stars before they evolve off the main sequence. Using a statistical approach, we characterize the outcomes of these stellar collisions within the inner parsec of the Galactic center (GC). Close to the SMBH, where the velocity dispersion is larger than the escape speed from a Sun-like star, collisions lead to mass loss. We find that the stellar population within 0.01 pc is halved within about a billion years because of destructive collisions. Additionally, we predict a diffuse population of peculiar low-mass stars in the GC. These stars have been divested of their outer layers in the inner 0.01 pc before migrating to larger distances from the SMBH. Between 0.01 and 0.1 pc from the SMBH, collisions can result in mergers. Our results suggest that repeated collisions between lower-mass stars can produce massive (≳10M_⊙) stars, and that there may be ∼100 of them residing in this region. We provide predictions on the number of so-called G objects, dust- and gas-enshrouded stellar objects, that may result from main-sequence stellar collisions. Lastly, we comment on uncertainties in our model and possible connections between stellar collisions and the missing red giants in the GC.

Most stellar evolution models predict that black holes (BHs) should not exist above approximately 50–70M_⊙, the lower limit of the pair-instability mass gap. However, recent LIGO/Virgo detections indicate the existence of BHs with masses at and above this threshold. We suggest that massive BHs, including intermediate-mass BHs (IMBHs), can form in galactic nuclei through collisions between stellar-mass BHs and the surrounding main-sequence stars. Considering dynamical processes such as collisions, mass segregation, and relaxation, we find that this channel can be quite efficient, forming IMBHs as massive as 10⁴M_⊙. This upper limit assumes that (1) the BHs accrete a substantial fraction of the stellar mass captured during each collision and (2) that the rate at which new stars are introduced into the region near the SMBH is high enough to offset depletion by stellar disruptions and star–star collisions. We discuss deviations from these key assumptions in the text. Our results suggest that BHs in the pair-instability mass gap and IMBHs may be ubiquitous in galactic centers. This formation channel has implications for observations. Collisions between stars and BHs can produce electromagnetic signatures, for example, from X-ray binaries and tidal disruption events. Additionally, formed through this channel, both BHs in the mass gap and IMBHs can merge with the SMBHs at the center of a galactic nucleus through gravitational waves. These gravitational-wave events are extreme- and intermediate-mass ratio inspirals.