Modulated X-ray Emissivity near the Stress Edge in Sgr A*

M. Falanga (1), F. Melia (2), M. Prescher (2), G. Belanger (3), A. Goldwurm (1)


(1) CEA Saclay, DSM/IRFU/Service d'Astrophysique, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
(2) Physics Department and Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
(3) ESA/ESAC, Apartado 50727, 28080 Madrid, Spain

Paper: Apj 679


Abstract:

Sgr A* is thought to be the radiative manifestation of a 3.6x10E6 Msun supermassive black hole at the Galactic center. Its mm/sub-mm spectrum and its flare emission at IR and X-ray wavelengths may be produced within the inner ten Schwarzschild radii of a hot, magnetized Keplerian flow. The lightcurve produced in this region may exhibit quasi-periodic variability. We present ray-tracing simulations to determine the general-relativistically modulated X-ray luminosity expected from plasma coupled magnetically to the rest of the disk as it spirals inwards below the innermost stable circular orbit towards the ``stress edge" in the case of a Schwarzschild metric. The resulting lightcurve exhibits a modulation similar to that observed during a recent X-ray flare from Sgr A*.


Preprints available from the authors at mfalanga@cea.fr , or the raw TeX (no figures) if you click here.

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