Chandra Explores Sagittarius A*'s Event Horizon Dynamics: X-ray and Multi-wavelength Variability
ORAL · Invited
Abstract
The last century has seen exciting tests of general relativity and the LIGO-Virgo observatories have now definitively discovered black holes. And yet we are only beginning to approach the event horizon with electromagnetic observations. Sagittarius A* is one of the closest supermassive black holes targeted by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, as well as VLT's GRAVITY instrument, the Event Horizon Telescope, and many more. It thus offers an exciting opportunity for coordinated, multi-wavelength campaigns, which are poised to identify the origin of observed X-ray and IR variability, connect it to horizon-scale structure in the submm, and distinguish between competing models: hot spots, inflow/outflow, reconnection regions, shocks, or even magnetosphere gaps. I will review recent highlights from Chandra and multi-wavelength observations of Sgr A* and prospects for future discovery.
*This work has been made possible by the Chandra scheduling, data processing, and archive teams -- it was supported by Chandra Award Numbers GO3-14121A and GO4-15091C, issued by the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, which is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for and on behalf of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) under contract NAS8-03060. D.H. acknowledge support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant, the Fonds de recherche du Québec–Nature et Technologies (FRQNT) Nouveaux Chercheurs program, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).
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Presenters
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Daryl Haggard
- McGill University, McGill Space Institute