scholarly journals Statistical and theoretical studies of flares from Sagittarius A⋆

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S322) ◽  
pp. 31-38
Author(s):  
Ya-Ping Li ◽  
Qiang Yuan ◽  
Q. Daniel Wang ◽  
P. F. Chen ◽  
Joseph Neilsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Solar Flares ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Self Organized Criticality ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractMulti-wavelength flares have routinely been observed from the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A⋆ (Sgr A⋆), at our Galactic center. The nature of these flares remains largely unclear, despite many theoretical models. We study the statistical properties of the Sgr A⋆ X-ray flares and find that they are consistent with the theoretical prediction of the self-organized criticality system with the spatial dimension S = 3. We suggest that the X-ray flares represent plasmoid ejections driven by magnetic reconnection (similar to solar flares) in the accretion flow onto the black hole. Motivated by the statistical results, we further develop a time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model for the multi-band flares from Sgr A⋆ by analogy with models of solar flares/coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We calculate the X-ray, infrared flare light curves, and the spectra, and find that our model can explain the main features of the flares.

scholarly journals Status of GRMHD simulations and radiative models of Sgr A*

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S322) ◽  
pp. 43-49
Author(s):  
Monika Mościbrodzka
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Kerr Black Hole ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Radiative Properties ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Accretion Flows ◽  
General Relativistic ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

AbstractThe Galactic center is a perfect laboratory for testing various theoretical models of accretion flows onto a supermassive black hole. Here, I review general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that were used to model emission from the central object - Sgr A*. These models predict dynamical and radiative properties of hot, magnetized, thick accretion disks with jets around a Kerr black hole. Models are compared to radio-VLBI, mm-VLBI, NIR, and X-ray observations of Sgr A*. I present the recent constrains on the free parameters of the model such as accretion rate onto the black hole, the black hole angular momentum, and orientation of the system with respect to our line of sight.

scholarly journals The reflection of two past outbursts of Sagittarius A* observed by Chandra during the last decade

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S303) ◽  
pp. 344-348
Author(s):  
M. Clavel ◽  
R. Terrier ◽  
A. Goldwurm ◽  
M. R. Morris ◽  
G. Ponti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Cloud Parameters ◽  
Angular Scale ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe supermassive black hole at the Galactic center, Sagittarius A* has experienced periods of higher activity in the past. The reflection of these past outbursts is observed in the molecular material surrounding the black hole but reconstructing its precise lightcurve is difficult since the distribution of the clouds along the line of sight is poorly constrained.Using Chandra high-resolution data collected from 1999 to 2011 we studied both the 6.4 keV and the 4–8 keV emission of the region located between Sgr A* and the Radio arc, characterizing its variations down to 15″ angular scale and 1-year time scale. The emission from the molecular clouds in the region varies significantly, showing either a 2-year peaked emission or 10-year linear variations. This is the first time that such fast variations are measured. Based on the cloud parameters, we conclude that these two behaviors are likely due to two distinct past outbursts of Sgr A* during which its luminosity rose to at least 1039 erg s−1.

scholarly journals Search for time lag in intra-day variability of Sgr A*

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S303) ◽  
pp. 322-323
Author(s):  
A. Miyazaki ◽  
S. S. Lee ◽  
B. W. Sohn ◽  
T. Jung ◽  
M. Tsuboi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Significant Time ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Receiver System ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
Plasma Blobs

AbstractWe searched the time lag between the intra-day variables (IDVs) of Sagittarius A* at 22, 43, and 86 GHz bands using the Korean VLBI Network (KVN). The time lags between the IDV flare peaks at 22 and 43 GHz are reported, and they suggest that the flare emissions come from adiabatically expanding plasma blobs, ejected close to the Galactic center black hole. We searched the time lags between light curves at 90 and 102 GHz using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array, but could not find significant time lags. In order to detect the diversity of the time lags of Sgr A* flares, we performed observations of Sgr A* in the 22, 43, and 86 GHz bands using the KVN in the winter of 2013. Because the receiver system of KVN can observe Sgr A* in these three bands simultaneously, the KVN is very useful to detect the time lags of Sgr A* flares.

scholarly journals Multiple accretion events as a trigger for Sagittarius A* activity

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S303) ◽  
pp. 320-321
Author(s):  
D. Kunneriath ◽  
B. Czerny ◽  
V. Karas ◽  
T. K. Das
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Enhanced Activity ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractThe Galactic center supermassive black hole is surrounded by orbiting clouds of gas. These clumps of gas may collide with each other, losing angular momentum and plunging towards the center. Observations of X-ray reflection from molecular clouds surrounding the Galactic center show evidence for enhanced activity of Sagittarius A* during the past few hundred years. These observations enable us to place constraints on the nature of past accretion events responsible for this enhanced activity. We model the source intrinsic luminosity of Sgr A* using multiple accretion events occurring at various moments in time, characterized by a range of angular momentum We also applied our scheme to the case of G2 cloud in the Galactic center.

scholarly journals Constraining jet physics in weakly accreting black holes

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S238) ◽  
pp. 145-149
Author(s):  
Sera Markoff
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Mass Scale ◽  
Compact Objects ◽  
Jet Physics ◽  
Accretion Rates ◽  
Test Population ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractOutflowing jets are observed in a variety of astronomical objects such as accreting compact objects from X-ray binaries (XRBs) to active galactic nuclei (AGN), as well as at stellar birth and death. Yet we still do not know exactly what they are comprised of, why and how they form, or their exact relationship with the accretion flow. In this talk I focus on jets in black hole systems, which provide the ideal test population for studying the relationship between inflow and outflow over an extreme range in mass and accretion rate.I present several recent results from coordinated multi-wavelength studies of low-luminosity sources. These results not only support similar trends in weakly accreting black hole behavior across the mass scale, but also suggest that the same underlying physical model can explain their broadband spectra. I discuss how comparisons between small- and large-scale systems are revealing new information about the regions nearest the black hole, providing clues about the creation of these weakest of jets. Furthermore, comparisons between our Galactic center nucleus Sgr A* and other sources at slightly higher accretion rates can elucidate the processes which drive central activity, and pave the way for new tests with upcoming instruments.

scholarly journals Continuation of the X-ray monitoring of Sgr A*: the increase in bright flaring rate confirmed

2020 ◽  
Vol 636 ◽  
pp. A25
Author(s):  
E. Mossoux ◽  
B. Finociety ◽  
J.-M. Beckers ◽  
F. H. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Detection Efficiency ◽  
Previous Method ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Block Algorithm ◽  
Sgr A

Context. The supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is located at the dynamical center of the Milky Way. In a recent study of the X-ray flaring activity from Sgr A* using Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Swift observations from 1999 to 2015, it has been argued that the bright flaring rate has increased from 2014 August 31 while the faint flaring rate decreased from around 2013 August. Aims. We tested the persistence of these changes in the flaring rates with new X-ray observations of Sgr A* performed from 2016 to 2018 (total exposure of 1.4 Ms). Methods. We reprocessed the Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Swift observations from 2016 to 2018. We detected 9 flares in the Chandra data and 5 flares in the Swift data that we added to the set of 107 previously detected flares. We computed the intrinsic distribution of flare fluxes and durations corrected for the sensitivity bias using a new method that allowed us to take the error on the flare fluxes and durations into account. From this intrinsic distribution, we determined the average flare detection efficiency for each Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Swift observation. After correcting each observational exposure for this efficiency, we applied the Bayesian blocks algorithm on the concatenated flare arrival times. As in the above-mentioned study, we also searched for a flux and fluence threshold that might lead to a change in flaring rate. We improved the previous method by computing the average flare detection efficiencies for each flux and fluence range. Results. The Bayesian block algorithm did not detect any significant change in flaring rate of the 121 flares. However, we detected an increase by a factor of about three in the flaring rate of the most luminous and most energetic flares that have occurred since 2014 August 30. Conclusions. The X-ray activity of Sgr A* has increased for more than four years. Additional studies about the overall near-infrared and radio behavior of Sgr A* are required to draw strong results on the multiwavelength activity of the black hole.

scholarly journals Cygnus X–1: A Case for a Magnetic Accretion Disk?

1997 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 366-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Nowak ◽  
B. A. Vaughan ◽  
J. Dove ◽  
J. Wilms
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Time Delays ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Modern Theory ◽  
Energy Bands ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Black Hole Candidate ◽  
Fast Timing ◽  
Multi Wavelength

AbstractWith the advent of RXTE, which is capable of broad spectral coverage and fast timing, as well as other instruments which are increasingly being used in multi-wavelength campaigns (via both space-based and ground-based observations), we must demand more of our theoretical models. No current model mimics all facets of a system as complex as an x-ray binary. However, a modern theory should qualitatively reproduce — or at the very least not fundamentally disagree with – all of Cygnus X–1’s most basic average properties: energy spectrum (viewed within a broader framework of black hole candidate spectral behavior), power spectrum (PSD), and time delays and coherence between variability in different energy bands. Below we discuss each of these basic properties in turn, and we assess the health of one of the currently popular theories: Comptonization of photons from a cold disk. We find that the data pose substantial challenges for this theory, as well as all other currently discussed models.

scholarly journals Variable and polarized emission from SgrA*

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S238) ◽  
pp. 181-185
Author(s):  
A. Eckart ◽  
R. Schödel ◽  
L. Meyer ◽  
C. Straubmeier ◽  
M. Dovčiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Polarized Emission

AbstractThe super-massive black hole in the Galactic Center (Sagittarius A*) is one of the most exciting targets in the sky. At a distance of ∼ 8 kpc it is about one hundred times closer than the second nearest nucleus of a similar galaxy, M31, and therefore the closest galactic nucleus that we can study. Here we report on the modeling of polarized near-infrared flare emission from SgrA* using a model in which a hot spot is moving on a relativistic orbit around the massive black hole. We also summarize the results from simultaneous radio/near-infrared/X-ray measurements of flare emission.

scholarly journals 7.8. Particle cascades in Sgr A∗: the possibility of observing their γ-ray signature

1998 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 307-308
Author(s):  
Sera Markoff ◽  
Fulvio Melia ◽  
Ina Sarcevic
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Particle Physics ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Inverse Compton Scattering ◽  
Black Hole Candidate ◽  
Γ Ray ◽  
Sgr A

The recent detection of a γ-ray flux from the direction of the Galactic center by EGRET on the Compton GRO raises the question of whether this is a point source (possibly coincident with the massive black hole candidate Sgr A∗) or a diffuse emitter. Using the latest experimental particle physics data and theoretical models, we have examined in detail the γ-ray spectrum produced by synchrotron, inverse Compton scattering and mesonic decay resulting from the interaction of relativistic protons with hydrogen accreting onto a point-like object. Such a distribution of high-energy baryons may be expected to form within an accretion shock as the inflowing gas becomes supersonic. This scenario is motivated by hydrodynamic studies of Bondi-Hoyle accretion onto Sgr A∗, which indicate that many of its radiative characteristics may ultimately be associated with energy liberated as this plasma descends down into the deep potential well. Earlier attempts at analyzing this process concluded that the EGRET data are inconsistent with a massive point-like object (Mastichiadis & Ozernoy, 1994). Our results demonstrate that a more careful treatment of the physics of p-p scattering suggests that a ~ 106M⊙ black hole may be contributing to this high-energy emission.

scholarly journals Advances from Recent Multi-wavelength Campaigns on Sgr A*

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (S322) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Daryl Haggard
Keyword(s):  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Electromagnetic Spectrum ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Near Ir ◽  
The Status ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractSagittarius A* is the closest example of a supermassive black hole and our proximity allows us to detect emission from its accretion flow in the radio, submillimeter, near IR, and X-ray regimes. Ambitious monitoring campaigns have yielded rich multi-wavelength, time-resolved data that have the power to probe the physical processes underlying Sgr A*’s quiescent and flare emission. Here, I review the status of Sgr A* X-ray monitoring campaigns from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (also XMM Newton, and Swift), and efforts to coordinate these with observations across the electromagnetic spectrum. I also discuss how these observations constrain models for Sgr A*’s variability, which range from tidal disruption of asteroids to gravitational lensing to collimated outflows to magnetic reconnection.

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