Search

We address a question whether the observed light curves of X-ray flares originating deep in galactic cores can give us independent constraints on the mass of the central supermassive black hole. To this end, we study four brightest flares which have been recorded from Sagittarius A*. They all exhibit an asymmetric shape consistent with a combination of two intrinsically separate peaks which occur at a certain time delay with respect to each other, and are characterized by their mutual flux ratio and the profile of raising/declining parts. Such asymmetric shapes arise naturally in the scenario of a temporary flash from a source orbiting near a supermassive black hole, at a radius of only ~10-20 gravitational radii. An interplay of relativistic effects is responsible for the modulation of the observed light curves: Doppler boosting, gravitational redshift, light focusing and light-travel time delays. We find the flare properties to be in agreement with the simulations (our ray-tracing code SIM5LIB). The inferred mass for each of the flares comes out in agreement with previous estimates based on orbits of stars; the latter have been observed at radii and over time-scales two orders of magnitude larger than those typical for the X-ray flares, so the two methods are genuinely different. We test the reliability of the method by applying it to another object, namely, the Seyfert I galaxy RE J1034+396. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flares from the supermassive black hole in our Galaxy, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), are routinely observed over the last decade or so. Despite numerous observational and theoretical efforts, the nature of such flares still remains poorly understood, although a few phenomenological scenarios have been proposed. In this work, we develop the Yuan et al. scenario into a magnetohydrodynamic model for Sgr A* flares. This model is analogous with the theory of solar flares and coronal mass ejection in solar physics. In the model, magnetic field loops emerge from the accretion flow on to Sgr A* and are twisted to form flux ropes because of shear and turbulence. The magnetic energy is also accumulated in this process until a threshold is reached. This then results in a catastrophic evolution of a flux rope with the help of magnetic reconnection in the current sheet. In this catastrophic process, the magnetic energy is partially converted into the energy of non-thermal electrons. We have quantitatively calculated the dynamical evolution of the height, size and velocity of the flux rope, as well as the magnetic field in the flare regions, and the energy distribution of relativistic electrons in this process. We further calculate the synchrotron radiation from these electrons and compare the obtained light curves with the observed ones. We find that the model can reasonably explain the main observations of near-infrared and X-ray flares including their light curves and spectra. It can also potentially explain the frequency-dependent time delay seen in radio flare light curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a model of the molecular gas distribution within ~100 pc from the centre of theMilky Way (Kruijssen, Dale & Longmore) to simulate time evolution and polarization properties of the reflected X-ray emission, associated with the past outbursts from Sgr A*.While this model is too simple to describe the complexity of the true gas distribution, it illustrates the importance and power of long-term observations of the reflected emission. We show that the variable part of X-ray emission observed by Chandra and XMM-Newton from prominent molecular clouds is well described by a pure reflectionmodel, providing strong support of the reflection scenario. While the identification of Sgr A* as a primary source for this reflected emission is already a very appealing hypothesis, a decisive test of this model can be provided by future X-ray polarimetric observations, which will allow placing constraints on the location of the primary source. In addition, X-ray polarimeters (like, e.g. XIPE) have sufficient sensitivity to constrain the line-of-sight positions of molecular complexes, removing major uncertainty in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supermassive black hole at the centre of the Galaxy flares at least daily in the infrared (IR) and X-ray bands, yet the process driving these flares is still unknown. So far detailed analysis has only been performed on a few bright flares. In particular, the broad-band spectral modelling suffers from a strong lack of simultaneous data. However, new monitoring campaigns now provide data on thousands of flaring events, allowing a statistical analysis of the flare properties. In this paper, we investigate the X-ray and IR flux distributions of the flare events. Using a self-consistent calculation of the particle distribution, we model the statistical properties of the flares. Based on a previous work on single flares, we consider two families of models: pure synchrotron (SD) models and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models. We investigate the effect of fluctuations in some relevant parameters (e.g. acceleration properties, density, magnetic field) on the flux distributions. The distribution of these parameters is readily derived from the flux distributions observed at different wavelengths. In both scenarios, we find that fluctuations of the power injected in accelerated particles play a major role. This must be distributed as a power law (with different indices in each model). In the synchrotron-dominated scenario, we derive the most extreme values of the acceleration power required to reproduce the brightest flares. In that model, the distribution of the acceleration slope fluctuations is constrained and in the SSC scenario we constrain the distributions of the correlated magnetic field and flow density variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daily X-ray flaring represents an enigmatic phenomenon of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) - the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy. We report initial results from a systematic X-ray study of this phenomenon, based on extensive Chandra observations obtained from 1999 to 2012, totalling about 4.5 Ms. We detect flares, using a combination of the maximum likelihood and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, which allow for a direct accounting for the pileup effect in the modelling of the flare light curves and an optimal use of the data, as well as the measurements of flare parameters, including their uncertainties. A total of 82 flares are detected. About one third of them are relatively faint, which were not detected previously. The observation-to-observation variation of the quiescent emission has an average root-mean-square of 6-14 per cent, including the Poisson statistical fluctuation of faint flares below our detection limits. We find no significant long-term variation in the quiescent emission and the flare rate over the 14 years. In particular, we see no evidence of changing quiescent emission and flare rate around the pericentre passage of the S2 star around 2002. We show clear evidence of a short-term clustering for the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer - Spectroscopy array/high energy transmission gratings 0th-order flares on time-scale of 20-70 ks. We further conduct detailed simulations to characterize the detection incompleteness and bias, which is critical to a comprehensive follow-up statistical analysis of flare properties. These studies together will help to establish Sgr A* as a unique laboratory to understand the astrophysics of prevailing low-luminosity black holes in the Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The massive black hole in our Galactic centre, Sgr A*, accretes only a small fraction of the gas available at its Bondi radius. The physical processes determining this accretion rate remain unknown, partly due to a lack of observational constraints on the gas at distances between ~10 and ~105 Schwarzschild radii (Rs) from the black hole. Recent infrared observations identify low-mass gas clouds, G1 and G2, moving on highly eccentric, nearly co-planar orbits through the accretion flow around Sgr A*. Although it is not yet clear whether these objects contain embedded stars, their extended gaseous envelopes evolve independently as gas clouds. In this paper we attempt to use these gas clouds to constrain the properties of the accretion flow at ~10³ Rs. Assuming that G1 and G2 follow the same trajectory, we model the small differences in their orbital parameters as evolution resulting from interaction with the background flow. We find evolution consistent with the G-clouds originating in the clockwise disc. Our analysis enables the first unique determination of the rotation axis of the accretion flow: we localize the rotation axis to within 20°, finding an orientation consistent with the parsec-scale jet identified in X-ray observations and with the circumnuclear disc, a massive torus of molecular gas ~1.5 pc from Sgr A*. This suggests that the gas in the accretion flow comes predominantly from the circumnuclear disc, rather than the winds of stars in the young clockwise disc. This result will be tested by the Event-Horizon Telescope within the next year. Our model also makes testable predictions for the orbital evolution of G1 and G2, falsifiable on a 5-10 year time-scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure. We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. We have found evidence for partially ordered magnetic fields near the event horizon, on scales of ~6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intrahour variability associated with these fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. We analyse 134 ks Chandra ACIS-I observations of the Galactic Centre (GC) performed in July 2011. The X-ray image with the field of view 17' x 17' contains the hot plasma surrounding the Sgr A*. The obtained surface brightness map allows us to fit the Bondi hot accretion flow to the innermost hot plasma around the GC. Aims. Contrary to the XMM-Newton data where a strong 6.4 keV iron line was observed andinterpreted as a reflection from molecular clouds, we search here for the diffuse X-ray emission with prominent 6.69 keV iron line. We found a surface brightness profile that allowed us to determine the stagnation radius of the flow around Sgr A*. Methods. We fitted spectra from the region up to 5'' from Sgr A* using a thermal bremsstrahlung model and four Gaussian profiles responsible for Kα emission lines of Fe, S, Ar, and Ca. The X-ray surface brightness profile up to 3'' from Sgr A* found in our data image was successfully fitted with the dynamical model of Bondi spherical accretion. Results. We show that the temperature of the hot plasma derived from our spectral fitting is of the order of 2.2-2.7 keV depending on the choice of background. By modelling the surface brightness profile, we derived the temperature and number density profiles in the vicinity of the black hole. The best fitted model of spherical Bondi accretion shows that this type of flow works only up to 3'' and implies that the outer plasma density and temperature are n™1 = 18.3 ± 0.1 cm-3 and re™1 = 3.5 ± 0.3 keV, respectively. Conclusions. We show that the Bondi flow can reproduce observed surface brightness profiles up to 3'' from Sgr A* in the Galactic centre. This result strongly suggests the position of stagnation radius in the complicated dynamics around GC. The temperature at the outer radius of the flow is higher by 1 keV than the value found by our spectral fitting of thermal plasma within the circle of 5''. The Faraday rotation computed from our model towards the pulsar PSR J1745-2900 near the GC agrees with the observed one, recently reported. We speculate here that the emission lines observed in spectra up to 5'' can be interpreted as the reflection of the radiation from two-phase regions occurring at distances between 3-5'' of the flow. The hot plasma in Sgr A* illuminated in the past by a strong radiation field may be a seed for thermal instabilities and eventual strong clumpiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present numerical models of the gas dynamics in the inner parsec of the Galactic Centre. We follow the gas from its origin as stellar winds of several observed young massive stars, until it is either captured by the central black hole, or leaves the system. Unlike our previous models, we include an outflow from the inner accretion flow. Two different kinds of outflows are modelled: (i) an instantaneous-response feedback mode, in which the outflow rate is directly proportional to the current black hole gas capture rate; and (ii) an outburst mode, which is stronger but lasts for a limited time. The latter situation may be particularly relevant to Sgr A*, since there is evidence that Sgr A* was much brighter in the recent past. We find that both types of outflow perturb the gas dynamics near the Bondi radius and the black hole capture rate significantly. The effects persist longer than the outflow itself. We also compare the effects of spherically symmetric and collimated outflows, and find that the latter are far less efficient in transferring its energy to the surrounding gas near the capture radius. Our results imply that accretion feedback is important for non-radiative accretion flows not only within but also outside the capture radius. Steady-state Bondi accretion rate estimates that do not account for feedback outflows overpredict not only the accretion rate on to the black hole but also the capture rate at the Bondi radius itself. Finally, the steady-state assumption under which non-radiative flows have been routinely studied in the literature may have to be abandoned if accretion feedback is bursty in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Galactic Centre hosts a puzzling stellar population in its inner few parsecs, with a high abundance of surprisingly young, relatively massive stars bound within the deep potential well of the central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* (ref. 1). Previous studies suggest that the population of objects emitting soft X-rays (less than 10 kiloelectronvolts) within the surrounding hundreds of parsecs, as well as the population responsible for unresolved X-ray emission extending along the Galactic plane, is dominated by accreting white dwarf systems. Observations of diffuse hard-X-ray (more than 10 kiloelectronvolts) emission in the inner 10 parsecs, however, have been hampered by the limited spatial resolution of previous instruments. Here we report the presence of a distinct hard-X-ray component within the central 4 × 8 parsecs, as revealed by subarcminute-resolution images in the 20-40 kiloelectronvolt range. This emission is more sharply peaked towards the Galactic Centre than is the surface brightness of the soft-X-ray population. This could indicate a significantly more massive population of accreting white dwarfs, large populations of low-mass X-ray binaries or millisecond pulsars, or particle outflows interacting with the surrounding radiation field, dense molecular material or magnetic fields. However, all these interpretations pose significant challenges to our understanding of stellar evolution, binary formation, and cosmic-ray production in the Galactic Centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on research examining the source of dust observed in the distant, early universe. It comments on the use of infrared observations of warm dust detected near the center of the Sagittarius A East supernova remnant (SNR) at the center of the Milky Way and detected the presence of dust within an older SNR that survived the passage of the reverse shock. It speculates supernova could be the primary dust-production mechanism in galaxies of the early universe.

The article discusses high-field limit tests of physicist Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, focusing on the use of observations of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius (Sgr) A*. Topics include the properties of Sgr A, such as radiation and size; the behavior of stars and interstellar matter surrounding the black hole; and the signals physicists will be looking for when the star S0-2 passes Sgr A* in 2018.

Context. The supermassive black hole, Sagittarius (Sgr) A*, in the centre of our Galaxy has the largest angular size in the sky among all astrophysical black holes. Its shadow, assuming no rotation, spans ~50 μas. Resolving such dimensions has long been out of reach for astronomical instruments until a new generation of interferometers being operational during this decade. Of particular interest is the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) with resolution ~20 μas in the millimeter-wavelength range 0.87 mm-1.3 mm. Aims. We investigate the ability of the fully general relativistic Komissarov (2006, MNRAS, 368, 993) analytical magnetized torus model to account for observable constraints at Sgr A* in the centimeter and millimeter domains. The impact of the magnetic field geometry on the observables is also studied. Methods. We calculate ray-traced centimeter- and millimeter-wavelength synchrotron spectra and images of a magnetized accretion torus surrounding the central black hole in Sgr A*. We assume stationarity, axial symmetry, constant specific angular momentum and polytropic equation of state. A hybrid population of thermal and non-thermal electrons is considered. Results. We show that the torus model is capable of reproducing spectral constraints in the millimeter domain, and in particular in the observable domain of the EHT. However, the torus model is not yet able to fit the centimeter spectrum. 1.3 mm images at high inclinations are in agreement with observable constraints. Conclusions. The ability of the torus model to account for observations of Sgr A* in the millimeter domain is interesting in the perspective of the future EHT. Such an analytical model allows very fast computations. It will thus be a suitable test bed for investigating large domains of physical parameters, as well as non-black-hole compact object candidates and alternative theories of gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that a combination of infrared photometry from WISE and 2MASS surveys can yield highly pure samples of M giant stars. We take advantage of the new WISE∩2MASS M giant selection to trace the Sagittarius (Sgr) trailing tail behind the Galactic disc in the direction of the anticentre. The M giant candidates selected via broad-band photometry are confirmed spectroscopically using AAOmega on the Anglo-Australian Telescope in three fields around the extremity of the Sgr trailing tail in the Southern Galactic hemisphere. We demonstrate that at the Sgr longitude Λʘ=204°, the line-of-sight velocities of the trailing tail starts to deviate from the track of the Law & Majewski model, confirming the prediction of Belokurov et al. This discovery serves to substantiate the measurement of low differential orbital precession of the Sgr stream which in turn may imply diminished dark matter content within 100 kpc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flares in X-ray and near-infrared are observed above the quiescent emission of the supermassive black hole (SBH) in the Galactic Centre (GC) at a rate of approximately once per day. One proposed energy source for these flares is the tidal disruption of planetesimals with radius ≳10 km passing within ∼1 au of the SBH. Very little is known about the formation and evolution of planetesimals in galactic nuclei such as the GC, making predictions for flaring event rates uncertain. We explore two scenarios for the formation of planetesimals in the GC: (1) in a large-scale cloud bound to the SBH, and (2) in debris discs around stars. We model their orbital evolution around the SBH using the Fokker–Planck equation and investigate the effect of gravitational interactions with various relevant perturbers. Our predicted flaring rate, ≈0.6 d−1, is nearly independent of the distribution of perturbers. Moreover, it is insensitive to scenarios (1) or (2). The assumed number of planetesimals per star is consistent with debris discs around stars in the solar neighbourhood. In scenario (1), this implies that the number of planetesimals formed in the large-scale cloud is strongly correlated with the number of stars, and this requires finetuning for our results to be consistent with the observed flaring rate. We favour the alternative explanation that planetesimals in the GC are formed in debris discs around stars, similar to the solar neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of the stellar and Hi structure of the dwarf irregular galaxy Sagittarius. We use new deep and wide field photometry to trace the surface brightness profile of the galaxy out to ≃5.00 (corresponding to ≃1600 pc) and down to μV ≃ 30.0 mag/arcsec2, thus showing that the stellar body of the galaxy is much more extended than previously believed, and it is similarly (or more) extended than the overall Hi distribution. The whole major-axis profile is consistent with a pure exponential, with a scale radius of ≃340 pc. The surface density maps reveal that the distribution of old and intermediate-age stars is smooth and remarkably flattened out to its edges, while the associated Hi has a much rounder shape, is off-centred and presents multiple density maxima and a significant hole. No clear sign of systemic rotation is detectable in the complex Hi velocity field. No metallicity gradient is detected in the old and intermediate age population of the galaxy, and we confirm that this population has a much more extended distribution than young stars (age ≲ 1 Gyr). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Radiatively inefficient accretion flows (RIAFs) are believed to power supermassive black holes in the underluminous cores of galaxies. Such black holes are typically accompanied by flat-spectrum radio cores indicating the presence of moderately relativistic jets. One of the best constrained RIAFs is associated with the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, Sgr A*. Aims. Since the plasma in RIAFs is only weakly collisional, the dynamics and the radiative properties of these systems are very uncertain. Here we want to study the impact of varying electron temperature on the appearance of accretion flows and jets. Methods. Using three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics accretion flow simulations, we use ray tracing methods to predict spectra and radio images of RIAFs allowing for different electron heating mechanisms in the in- and outflowing parts of the simulations. Results. We find that small changes in the electron temperature can result in dramatic differences in the relative dominance of jets and accretion flows. Application to Sgr A* shows that radio spectrum and size of this source can be well reproduced with a model where electrons are more efficiently heated in the jet. The X-ray emission is sensitive to the electron heating mechanism in the jets and disk and therefore X-ray observations put strong constraints on electron temperatures and geometry of the accretion flow and jet. For Sgr A*, the jet model also predicts a significant frequency-dependent core shift which could place independent constraints on the model once measured accurately. Conclusions. We conclude that more sophisticated models for electron distribution functions are crucial for constraining GRMHD simulations with actual observations. For Sgr A*, the radio appearance may well be dominated by the outflowing plasma. Nonetheless, at the highest radio frequencies, the shadow of the event horizon should still be detectable with future Very Long Baseline Interferometric observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a spectroscopic survey of red giants in the globular cluster Terzan 8 with the aim of studying its kinematics. We derived accurate radial velocities for 82 stars located in the innermost 7 arcmin from the cluster centre identifying 48 bona fide cluster members. The kinematics of the cluster have been compared with a set of dynamical models accounting for the effect of mass segregation and a variable fraction of binaries. The derived velocity dispersion appears to be larger than that predicted for mass-segregated stellar systems without binaries, indicating that either the cluster is dynamically young or it contains a large fraction of binaries (>30 per cent). We detected seven stars with a radial velocity compatible with the cluster systemic velocity but with chemical patterns which stray from those of both the cluster and the Galactic field. These stars are likely members of the Sagittarius stream surrounding this stellar system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We compile and analyse long-term (≈10 yr) submillimetre (submm – 1.3, 0.87, 0.43 mm) wavelength light curves of the Galactic Centre black hole, Sagittarius A*. The 0.87 and 0.43 mm data are taken from the literature, while the majority of the 1.3 mm light curve is from previously unpublished SMA and CARMA data. We show that on minute to a few hour time-scales, the variability is consistent with a red noise process with a 230 GHz power-spectrum slope of $\beta =2.3^{+0.8}_{-0.6}$ at 95 per cent confidence. The light curve is decorrelated (white noise) on long (month to year) times. We measure a transition time between red and white noise of $\tau = 8_{-4}^{+3}$ h at 230 GHz at 95 per cent confidence, with consistent results at 345 and 690 GHz. This corresponds to ≈10 orbital times or ≈1 inflow (viscous) time at R = 3Rs, a typical radius producing the 230 GHz emission as measured by very long baseline interferometry and found in theoretical accretion flow and jet models. This time-scale is shorter (longer) than those measured by some analyses of radio (near-infrared) light curves. It is roughly consistent with the analogous time-scale inferred in studies of quasar optical light curves after accounting for the difference in emission radius. We find evidence that the submm variability persists at least down to the innermost stable circular orbit, if not the event horizon. These results can be compared quantitatively with similar analyses at different wavebands to test for connections between the variability mechanisms, and with light curves from theoretical models of accreting black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report measurements of parallaxes and proper motions of ten high-mass star-forming regions in the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Milky Way as part of the BeSSeL Survey with the VLBA. Combining these results with eight others from the literature, we investigated the structure and kinematics of the arm between Galactocentric azimuths β ≈ −2° and 65°. We found that the spiral pitch angle is 7°.3 ± 1°.5; the arm’s half-width, defined as the rms deviation from the fitted spiral, is ≈0.2 kpc; and the nearest portion of the Sagittarius arm is 1.4 ± 0.2 kpc from the Sun. Unlike for adjacent spiral arms, we found no evidence for significant peculiar motions of sources in the Sagittarius arm opposite to Galactic rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sagittarius A⋆ harbors the supermassive black hole that lies at the dynamical center of our Galaxy. Sagittarius A⋆ spends most of its time in a low luminosity emission state but flares frequently in the infrared and X-ray, increasing up to a few hundred fold in brightness for up to a few hours at a time. The physical processes giving rise to the X-ray flares are uncertain. Here we report the detection with the NuSTAR observatory in Summer and Fall 2012 of four low to medium amplitude X-ray flares to energies up to 79 keV. For the first time, we clearly see that the power-law spectrum of Sagittarius A⋆ X-ray flares extends to high energy, with no evidence for a cutoff. Although the photon index of the absorbed power-law fits are in agreement with past observations, we find a difference between the photon index of two of the flares (significant at the 95% confidence level). The spectra of the two brightest flares (∼55 times quiescence in the 2-10 keV band) are compared to simple physical models in an attempt to identify the main X-ray emission mechanism, but the data do not allow us to significantly discriminate between them. However, we confirm the previous finding that the parameters obtained with synchrotron models are, for the X-ray emission, physically more reasonable than those obtained with inverse Compton models. One flare exhibits large and rapid (<100 s) variability, which, considering the total energy radiated, constrains the location of the flaring region to be within ∼10 Schwarzschild radii of the black hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-term spectroscopic and photometric survey of the most luminous and massive stars in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sgr A* revealed two new binaries: a long-period Ofpe/WN9 binary, IRS 16NE, with a modest eccentricity of 0.3 and a period of 224 days, and an eclipsing Wolf-Rayet binary with a period of 2.3 days. Together with the already identified binary IRS 16SW, there are now three confirmed OB/WR binaries in the inner 0.2 pc of the Galactic center. Using radial velocity change upper limits, we were able to constrain the spectroscopic binary fraction in the Galactic center to at a confidence level of 95%, a massive binary fraction close to that observed in dense clusters. The fraction of eclipsing binaries with photometric amplitudes Δm > 0.4 is , which is consistent with local OB star clusters (FEB = 1%). Overall, the Galactic center binary fraction seems to be similar to the binary fraction in comparable young clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The center of our Galaxy hosts the best constrained supermassive black hole in the universe, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Its mass and distance have been accurately determined from stellar orbits and proper motion studies, respectively, and its high-frequency radio, and highly variable near-infrared and x-ray emission originate from within a few Schwarzschild radii of the event horizon. The theory of general relativity (GR) predicts the appearance of a black hole shadow, which is a lensed image of the event horizon. This shadow can be resolved by very long baseline radio interferometry and test basic predictions of GR and alternatives thereof. In this paper we review our current understanding of the physical properties of Sgr A*, with a particular emphasis on the radio properties, the black hole shadow, and models for the emission and appearance of the source. We argue that the Galactic Center holds enormous potential for experimental tests of black hole accretion and theories of gravitation in their strong limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Sgr A, displays a nearly flat radio spectrum that is typical for jets in active galactic nuclei. Indeed, time-dependent magnetized models of radiatively inefficient accretion flows (RIAFs), which are commonly used to explain the millimeter, near-infrared, and X-ray emission of Sgr A, often also produce jet-like outflows. However, the emission from these models has so far failed to reproduce the flat radio spectrum. Aims. We investigate whether current accretion simulations can produce the compact flat spectrum emission by simply using a different prescription for the heating of the radiating particles in the jet. Methods. We studied the radiative properties of accretion flows onto a black hole produced in time-dependent general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations. A crucial free parameter in these models has always been the electron temperature, and here we allowed for variations in the proton-to-electron temperature ratios in the jet and disk. Results. We found that the flat spectrum is readily reproduced by a standard GRMHD model if one has an almost isothermal jet coupled to a two-temperature accretion flow. The low-frequency radio emission comes from the outflowing sheath of matter surrounding the strongly magnetized nearly empty jet. The model is consistent with the radio sizes and spectrum of Sgr A. Conclusions. Hence, GRMHD models of accreting black holes can in principle naturally reproduce jets that match observed characteristics. For Sgr A the model fit to the spectrum predicts higher mass-accretion rates when a jet is included than without a jet. Hence, the impact of the recently discovered G2 cloud that is expected to be accreted onto Sgr A might be less severe than currently thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The relatively rapid spatial and temporal variability of the X-ray radiation from some molecular clouds near the Galactic center shows that this emission component is due to the reflection of X-rays generated by a source that was luminous in the past, most likely the central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A8 . Aims. Studying the evolution of the molecular cloud reflection features is therefore a key element in reconstructing SgrA8 's past activity. The aim of the present work is to study this emission on small angular scales in order to characterize the source outburst on short time scales. Methods. We use Chandra high-resolution data collected from 1999 to 2011 to study the most rapid variations detected so far, those of clouds between 5' and 20' from SgrA8 toward positive longitudes. Our systematic spectral-imaging analysis of the reflection emission, notably of the Fe Kα line at 6.4 keV and its associated 4-8 keV continuum, allows us to characterize the variations down to a 15'' angular scale and a 1-year time scale. Results. We reveal for the first time abrupt variations of only a few years and, in particular, a short peaked emission, with a factor of 10 increase followed by a comparable decrease, which propagates along the dense filaments of one cloud. This 2-year peaked feature contrasts with the slower 10-year linear variations we reveal in all the other molecular structures of the region. Based on column density constraints, we argue that these two different behaviors are unlikely to be due to the same illuminating event. Conclusions. The variations likely stem from a highly variable active phase of SgrA8 which occurred sometime within the past few hundred years, and is characterized by at least two luminous outbursts with typical time scales of a few years and during which the SgrA8 luminosity went up to at least 1039 erg s-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (3, 3) and (6, 6) transitions have been observed using the Green Bank Telescope toward the Sgr A region. The gas is mainly concentrated in 50 km s-1 and 20 km s-1 clouds located in a plane inclined to the galactic plane. These "main" clouds appear to be virialized and influenced by the expansion of the supernova remnant Sgr A East. The observed emission shows very complicated features in the morphology and velocity structure. Gaussian multi-component fittings of the observed spectra revealed that various "streaming" gas components exist all over the observed region. These components include those previously known as "streamers" and "ridges," but most of these components appear not to be directly connected to the major gas condensations (the 50 km s-1 and 20 km s-1 clouds). They are apparently located out of the galactic plane, and they may have a different origin than the major gas condensations. Some of the streaming components are expected to be sources that feed the circumnuclear disk of our Galactic center directly and episodically. They may also evolve differently than major gas condensations under the influence of the activities of the Galactic center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting in 2006, Swift has been targeting a region of ≃21' x 21' around Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) with the onboard X-Ray Telescope. The short, quasi-daily observations offer a unique view of the long-term X-ray behavior of the supermassive black hole. We report on the data obtained between 2006 February and 2011 October, which encompasses 715 observations with a total accumulated exposure time of ≃0.8 Ms. A total of six X-ray flares were detected with Swift, which all had an average 2–10 keV luminosity of LX ≃ (1 – 3) x 1035 erg s–1 (assuming a distance of 8 kpc). This more than doubles the number of such bright X-ray flares observed from Sgr A* . One of the Swift-detected flares may have been softer than the other five, which would indicate that flares of similar intensity can have different spectral properties. The Swift campaign allows us to constrain the occurrence rate of bright (LX ≳1035 erg s–1) X-ray flares to be ≃0.1–0.2 day–1, which is in line with previous estimates. This analysis of the occurrence rate and properties of the X-ray flares seen with Swift offers an important calibration point to assess whether the flaring behavior of Sgr A* changes as a result of its interaction with the gas cloud that is projected to make a close passage in 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central parsec of the Milky Way is a very special region of our Galaxy; it contains the supermassive black hole associated with Sgr A* as well as a significant number of early-type stars and a complex structure of streamers of neutral and ionized gas, within two parsec from the centre, representing a unique laboratory. We report the identification of a high velocity compact nebular filament 2.2 arcsec south of Sgr A*. The structure extends over ∼1 arcsec and presents a strong velocity gradient of ∼200 km s−1 arcsec−1. The peak of maximum emission, seen in [Fe iii] and He i lines, is located at dα = +0.20 ± 0.06 arcsec and dδ = −2.20 ± 0.06 arcsec with respect to Sgr A*. This position is near the star IRS 33N. The velocity at the emission peak is Vr = −267 km s−1. The filament has a position angle of PA = 115° ± 10°, similar to that of the Bar and of the Eastern Arm at that position. The peak position is located 0.7 arcsec north of the binary X-ray and radio transient CXOGX J174540.0−290031, a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with an orbital period of 7.9 h. The [Fe iii] line emission is strong in the filament and its vicinity. These lines are probably produced by shock heating but we cannot exclude some X-ray photoionization from the LMXB. Although we cannot rule out the idea of a compact nebular jet, we interpret this filament as a possible shock between the Northern and the Eastern Arm or between the Northern Arm and the mini-spiral ‘Bar’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first spectral energy distributions produced self-consistently by 2.5D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamical (GRMHD) numerical simulations, where radiative cooling is included in the dynamical calculation. As a case study, we focus on the accretion flow around the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), which has the best constrained physical parameters. We compare the simulated spectra to the observational data of Sgr A* and explore the parameter space of our model to determine the effect of changing the initial magnetic field configuration, the ion-to-electron temperature ratio Ti/Te and the target accretion rate. We find the best description of the data for a mass accretion rate of ∼10−9 M⊙ yr−1, and rapid spin (0.7 < a* < 0.9). The submillimetre peak flux seems largely independent of initial conditions, while the higher energies can be very sensitive to the initial magnetic field configuration. Finally, we also discuss flaring features observed in some simulations, which may be due to artefacts of the 2D configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a mass model for the Milky Way, which is fitted to observations of the Sagittarius stream together with constraints derived from a wide range of photometric and kinematic data. The model comprises a Sérsic bulge, an exponential disc and an Einasto halo. Our Bayesian analysis is accomplished using an affine-invariant Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. We find that the best-fitting dark matter halo is triaxial with axis ratios of 3.3 ± 0.7 and 2.7 ± 0.4 and with the short axis approximately aligned with the Sun-Galactic Centre line. Our results are consistent with those presented in Law & Majewski. Such a strongly aspherical halo is disfavoured by the standard cold dark matter scenario for structure formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research using three-dimensional (3D) general relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations to investigate accreting black holes (BHs) with various spin vectors, disk thicknesses, and with magnetic flux reaching saturation. Topics include the affect of BH's spin magnitude and direction on the production of intense radiation and powerful relativistic jets, what the simulations revealed about a "magneto-spin alignment" mechanism, such as its influence on the alignment of magnetized disks and jets with the BH spin near BHs, and the implications of this mechanism for the evolution of BH mass and spin, BH feedback on host galaxies, and resolved BH images for the accreting BHs in the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) and the galaxy M87.

We calculate the "observed at infinity" image and spectrum of the accretion structure in Sgr A*, by modelling it as an optically thin, constant angular momentum ion torus in hydrodynamic equilibrium. The physics we consider includes a two-temperature plasma, a toroidal magnetic field, as well as radiative cooling by bremsstrahlung, synchrotron, and inverse Compton processes. Our relativistic model has the virtue of being fully analytic and very simple, depending only on eight tunable parameters: the black hole spin and the inclination of the spin axis to our line of sight, the torus angular momentum, the polytropic index, the magnetic to total pressure ratio, the central values of density and electron temperature, and the ratio of electron to ion temperatures. The observed image and spectrum are calculated numerically using the ray-tracing code GYOTO. Our results demonstrate that the ion torus model is able to account for the main features of the accretion structure surrounding Sgr A*. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The disruption of a binary star system by the massive black hole at the Galactic Centre, SgrA*, can lead to the capture of one star around SgrA* and the ejection of its companion as a hypervelocity star (HVS). We consider the possibility that these stars may have planets and study the dynamics of these planets. Using a direct N-body integration code, we simulated a large number of different binary orbits around SgrA*. For some orbital parameters, a planet is ejected at a high speed. In other instances, a HVS is ejected with one or more planets orbiting around it. In these cases, it may be possible to observe the planet as it transits the face of the star. A planet may also collide with its host star. In such cases the atmosphere of the star will be enriched with metals. In other cases, a planet is tidally disrupted by SgrA*, leading to a bright flare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of the Sagittarius stream in the southern Galactic hemisphere is analyzed with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8. Parallel to the Sagittarius tidal track, but ~10° away, there is another fainter and more metal-poor stream. We provide evidence that the two streams follow similar distance gradients but have distinct morphological properties and stellar populations. The brighter stream is broader, contains more metal-rich stars, and has a richer color-magnitude diagram with multiple turnoffs and a prominent red clump as compared to the fainter stream. Based on the structural properties and the stellar population mix, the stream configuration is similar to the Northern "bifurcation." In the region of the South Galactic Cap, there is overlapping tidal debris from the Cetus stream, which crosses the Sagittarius stream. Using both photometric and spectroscopic data, we show that the blue straggler population belongs mainly to Sagittarius and the blue horizontal branch stars belong mainly to the Cetus stream in this confused location in the halo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present BV photometry of four Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy globular clusters: Arp 2, NGC 5634, Palomar 12 and Terzan 8, obtained with the Danish Telescope at ESO La Silla. We measure the structural parameters of the clusters using a King profile fitting, obtaining the first reliable measurements of the tidal radius of Arp 2 and Terzan 8. These two clusters are remarkably extended and with low concentrations; with a concentration of only c= 0.41 ± 0.02, Terzan 8 is less concentrated than any cluster in our Galaxy. Blue stragglers are identified in the four clusters, and their spatial distribution is compared to those of horizontal branch and red giant branch stars. The blue straggler properties do not provide evidence of mass segregation in Terzan 8, while Arp 2 probably shares the same status, although with less confidence. In the case of NGC 5634 and Palomar 12, blue stragglers are significantly less populous, and their analysis suggests that the two clusters have probably undergone mass segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]