Galactic Center: Implications of Recent Chandra Observations for Spherical Accretion Models of Sgr A*

2001/02/28 by R. F. Coker, Sera Markoff, S. Markoff +2
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Mechanics and Biomechanics Studies #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0102488

to appear in Proceedings of IAU 205; 4 pages

arxiv created 2001/02/28 · openalex publication_date 2001/02/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

At the center of the Milky Way lurks a unique compact nonthermal radio source, Sgr A*. It is thought to be powered by a 2.6 million solar mass black hole that is accreting the stellar winds from the numerous early-type stars that exist in the central parsec. However, until recent high resolution Chandra observations, Sgr A* had never been unequivocably detected at wavelengths shorter than the sub-millimeter. We present a spherical accretion model which is consistent with both the flux and steep spectral shape of the X-ray emission from Sgr A*.

Related

• X-Ray Observations on the Galactic Center Region
• WHAT IS SGR A*? The Starved Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
• The Structure and Variability of Sagittarius A*: Zooming in to the Supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center
• Correlated Sub-mm and X-ray Variability in Sgr A*
• The power of monitoring stellar orbits