Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userThe spectrum of Sgr A* and its variability
65
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
We demonstrate that there is only one physical process required to explain the spectrum and the variability of the radio source at the dynamical center of our Galaxy, Sgr A*, in the frequency range from $approx$1 to $approx$1000 GHz, namely optically thin synchrotron radiation that is emitted from a population of relativistic electrons. We attribute the observed variability to variable energy input from an accretion disk around Sgr A* into the acceleration of the electrons.
rate research
Read More
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is the variable radio, near-infrared (NIR), and X-ray source associated with accretion onto the Galactic center black hole. We have analyzed a comprehensive submillimeter (including new observations simultaneous with NIR monitoring), NIR, and 2-8 keV dataset. Submillimeter variations tend to lag those in the NIR by $sim$30 minutes. An approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) fit to the X-ray first-order structure function shows significantly less power at short timescales in the X-rays than in the NIR. Less X-ray variability at short timescales combined with the observed NIR-X-ray correlations means the variability can be described as the result of two strictly correlated stochastic processes, the X-ray process being the low-pass-filtered version of the NIR process. The NIR--X-ray linkage suggests a simple radiative model: a compact, self-absorbed synchrotron sphere with high-frequency cutoff close to NIR frequencies plus a synchrotron self-Compton scattering component at higher frequencies. This model, with parameters fit to the submillimeter, NIR, and X-ray structure functions, reproduces the observed flux densities at all wavelengths, the statistical properties of all light curves, and the time lags between bands. The fit also gives reasonable values for physical parameters such as magnetic flux density $Bapprox13$ G, source size $L approx2.2R_{S}$, and high-energy electron density $n_{e}approx4times10^{7}$ cm$^{-3}$. An animation illustrates typical light curves, and we make public the parameter chain of our Bayesian analysis, the model implementation, and the visualization code.
We report new observations with the Very Large Array, Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and Submillimeter Array at frequencies from 1.0 to 355 GHz of the Galactic Center black hole, Sagittarius A*. These observations were conducted between October 2012 and November 2014. While we see variability over the whole spectrum with an amplitude as large as a factor of 2 at millimeter wavelengths, we find no evidence for a change in the mean flux density or spectrum of Sgr A* that can be attributed to interaction with the G2 source. The absence of a bow shock at low frequencies is consistent with a cross-sectional area for G2 that is less than $2 times 10^{29}$ cm$^2$. This result fits with several model predictions including a magnetically arrested cloud, a pressure-confined stellar wind, and a stellar photosphere of a binary merger. There is no evidence for enhanced accretion onto the black hole driving greater jet and/or accretion flow emission. Finally, we measure the millimeter wavelength spectral index of Sgr A* to be flat; combined with previous measurements, this suggests that there is no spectral break between 230 and 690 GHz. The emission region is thus likely in a transition between optically thick and thin at these frequencies and requires a mix of lepton distributions with varying temperatures consistent with stratification.
We investigate long-term X-ray behaviors from the Sgr B2 complex using archival data of the X-ray satellites Suzaku, XMM-Newton, Chandra and ASCA. The observed region of the Sgr B2 complex includes two prominent spots in the Fe I K-$alpha$ line at 6.40 keV, a giant molecular cloud M 0.66$-$0.02 known as the ``Sgr B2 cloud and an unusual X-ray source G 0.570$-$0.018. Although these 6.40 keV spots have spatial extensions of a few pc scale, the morphology and flux of the 6.40 keV line has been time variable for 10 years, in contrast to the constant flux of the Fe XXV-K$alpha$ line at 6.67 keV in the Galactic diffuse X-ray emission. This time variation is mostly due to M 0.66$-$0.02; the 6.40 keV line flux declined in 2001 and decreased to 60% in the time span 1994--2005. The other spot G 0.570$-$0.018 is found to be conspicuous only in the Chandra observation in 2000. From the long-term time variability ($sim$10 years) of the Sgr B2 complex, we infer that the Galactic Center black hole Sgr A$^*$ was X-ray bright in the past 300 year and exhibited a time variability with a period of a few years.
We discuss the radio spectrum of Sgr A* index{Sgr A*, radio spectrum} in the frequency range between $approx 1,{rm GHz}$ and $approx 1,000,{rm GHz}$, show that it can be explained by optically thin synchrotron radiation index{Sgr A*, synchrotron radiation, optically thin} of relativistic electrons, and point toward a possible correlation between the spectrum of Sgr A* and larger-scale ($la 50,{rm pc}$) radio emission from the Galactic Center index{Galactic Center} region.
The electromagnetic counterpart to the Galactic center supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, has been observed in the near-infrared for over 20 years and is known to be highly variable. We report new Keck Telescope observations showing that Sgr A* reached much brighter flux levels in 2019 than ever measured at near-infrared wavelengths. In the K$^prime$ band, Sgr A* reached flux levels of $sim6$ mJy, twice the level of the previously observed peak flux from $>13,000$ measurements over 130 nights with the VLT and Keck Telescopes. We also observe a factor of 75 change in flux over a 2-hour time span with no obvious color changes between 1.6 $mu$m and 2.1 $mu$m. The distribution of flux variations observed this year is also significantly different than the historical distribution. Using the most comprehensive statistical model published, the probability of a single night exhibiting peak flux levels observed this year, given historical Keck observations, is less than $0.3%$. The probability to observe the flux levels similar to all 4 nights of data in 2019 is less than $0.05%$. This increase in brightness and variability may indicate a period of heightened activity from Sgr A* or a change in its accretion state. It may also indicate that the current model is not sufficient to model Sgr A* at high flux levels and should be updated. Potential physical origins of Sgr A*s unprecedented brightness may be from changes in the accretion-flow as a result of the star S0-2s closest passage to the black hole in 2018 or from a delayed reaction to the approach of the dusty object G2 in 2014. Additional multi-wavelength observations will be necessary to both monitor Sgr A* for potential state changes and to constrain the physical processes responsible for its current variability.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
