CMZ gas distribution. Top panel: CMZ particle column density computed from CO (J = 3− 2). The CMZ was covered between − 1.07° < l < 1.73° and − 0.42° < b < 0.40°, within a velocity range of |v| < 220 km s⁻¹ (Oka et al. 2012). The white areas along the perimeter are zones with no observations. Bottom panel: CMZ line-of-sight distribution boundaries for both the disk and ring configurations. The red ellipse is the external boundary for both scenarios, and the blue ellipse is the internal boundary for the ring scenario. We note that R_E1 and R_E2 are the semi-major axis and semi-minor axis for the external ellipse, and R_I1 and R_I2 are the semi-major axis and semi-minor axis for the internal ellipse. Both ellipses are centered on the red x-mark, with an inclination θ with respect to the line of sight. Gray lines demarcate the area projected along the line of sight analyzed in the HESS analysis, where R_P1 and R_P2 are the maximum projected radii from Sgr A* (black x-mark).