Beautiful flashes from the center of the galaxy

Beautiful flashes from the center of the galaxy

A multi-wave view of the field around the galactic center of the Milky Way, visible from X-ray (blue) and infrared (red) light. Astronomers measured flashing events at several wavelengths coming from a supermassive black hole in the center.

Sagittarius A * is a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the center of the Milky Way. It is 100 times closer than any other SMBH, so it is considered the main candidate for the study of how matter emits light when absorbed by a hole. Sagittarius A * has been observed for decades, noting the rapid fluctuations arising from X-ray irradiation to the nearest IR region, as well as submillimeter and radio waves. Modeling the mechanisms of light variability is a direct challenge to our understanding of the accretion of a supermassive black hole. But it is believed that the correlation between the phases of flares at different wavelengths can capture information in the spatial structure, for example, if the hotter material is in the smaller zone closer to the black hole. One of the main obstacles to the process is the lack of simultaneous multiwave observations.

Recently, astronomers conducted a series of multi-wave monitoring campaigns, including the IRAC camera on the Spitzer space telescope and the Chandra X-ray observatory with the Keck ground telescope. Spitzer was able to continuously monitor the black hole fluctuations for 23.4 hours during each session, which is impossible to rotate on the basis of a ground-based observatory. The computational model of emission from the vicinity of a black hole requires a simulation of the process of accumulation of material, with its subsequent heating and radiation. The general theory of relativity predicts that radiation will appear in remote observations. Theorists suspect that shorter radiation with a wavelength occurs closer, and cold radiation - further. As a result, the time delay may indicate the distance between these zones. Indeed, previous studies revealed evidence that hot, near-infrared radiation preceded submillimeter flashes.

In the new article, scientists report two outbreaks that violate previous patterns. The first event occurred at all wavelengths, and in the second, X-ray, near-IR, and submillimeter flashes were encountered with a delay of an hour. The team will continue to conduct monitoring companies to improve the data.

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