The Structure and Variability of Sagittarius A*: Zooming in to the Supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center
Feng Yuan(1), Jun-Hui Zhao(2)
(1) Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany,
(2) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS 78, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Paper: to appear in "Astronomy and Chinese Astronomy: Present and Future", Mainland and Overseas Young Chinese Astronomer Colloquium: Celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the National Science Foundation of China, Beijing, December 2001
Abstract:
The Galactic center provides a unique astrophysical
laboratory for us to study various astrophysical processes.
In this paper, we review and outline the latest results
from observations of Sgr A* in terms of source structure
and variations in flux density. Sgr A* phenomenon represents
a typical case of low radiative efficiency accretion flow
surrounding a supermassive black hole in low luminosity AGNs.
Many pending astrophysical problems found from observations
of Sgr A* have challenged the existing astrophysical theories.
Current theoretical models of Sgr A* are also reviewed.
Preprints available from the authors at fyuan@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
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or the raw TeX (no figures) if you click here.
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