Do flares in Sagittarius A* reflect the last stage of tidal capture?

In recent years the case for the presence of 3 – 4 × 106M⊙ black hole in our Galactic Center has gain strength from results of stellar dynamics observations and from the detection of several rapid X-ray and IR flares observed in the Sagittarius A* from 2000 to 2004. Here we explore the idea that such flares are produced when the central black hole tidally captures and disrupts a small body — e.g. a comet or an asteroid. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]