141 research outputs found
The Post-Pericenter Evolution of the Galactic Center Source G2
In early 2014 the fast-moving near-infrared source G2 reached its closest
approach to the supermassive black hole Sgr A* in the Galactic Center. We
report on the evolution of the ionized gaseous component and the dusty
component of G2 immediately after this event, revealed by new observations
obtained in 2015 and 2016 with the SINFONI integral field spectrograph and the
NACO imager at the ESO VLT. The spatially resolved dynamics of the Br
line emission can be accounted for by the ballistic motion and tidal shearing
of a test-particle cloud that has followed a highly eccentric Keplerian orbit
around the black hole for the last 12 years. The non-detection of a drag force
or any strong hydrodynamic interaction with the hot gas in the inner accretion
zone limits the ambient density to less than a few 10 cm at the
distance of closest approach (1500 ), assuming G2 is a spherical cloud
moving through a stationary and homogeneous atmosphere. The dust continuum
emission is unresolved in L'-band, but stays consistent with the location of
the Br emission. The total luminosity of the Br and L' emission
has remained constant to within the measurement uncertainty. The nature and
origin of G2 are likely related to that of the precursor source G1, since their
orbital evolution is similar, though not identical. Both object are also likely
related to a trailing tail structure, which is continuously connected to G2
over a large range in position and radial velocity.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
Optical Distortion in the NACO Imager
In this research note, we present a set of distortion solutions that may be
used to correct geometric optical distortion in images taken with the S13
camera of the NACO adaptive optics imager.Comment: published in the RNAA
Sgr A* near-infrared flares from reconnection events in a magnetically arrested disc
Large-amplitude Sgr A* near-infrared flares result from energy injection into
electrons near the black hole event horizon. Astrometry data show continuous
rotation of the emission region during bright flares, and corresponding
rotation of the linear polarization angle. One broad class of physical flare
models invokes magnetic reconnection. Here we show that such a scenario can
arise in a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a
magnetically arrested disc. Saturation of magnetic flux triggers eruption
events, where magnetically dominated plasma is expelled from near the horizon
and forms a rotating, spiral structure. Dissipation occurs via reconnection at
the interface of the magnetically dominated plasma and surrounding fluid. This
dissipation is associated with large increases in near-infrared emission in
models of Sgr A*, with durations and amplitudes consistent with the observed
flares. Such events occur at roughly the timescale to re-accumulate the
magnetic flux from the inner accretion disc, 10h for Sgr A*. We study
near-infrared observables from one sample event to show that the emission
morphology tracks the boundary of the magnetically dominated region. As the
region rotates around the black hole, the near-infrared centroid and linear
polarization angle both undergo continuous rotation, similar to the behavior
seen in Sgr A* flares.Comment: revised version, MNRAS, in pres
Multiwavelength Variability of Sagittarius A* in 2019 July
We report timing analysis of near-infrared (NIR), X-ray, and sub-millimeter
(submm) data during a three-day coordinated campaign observing Sagittarius A*.
Data were collected at 4.5 micron with the Spitzer Space Telescope, 2-8 keV
with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, 3-70 keV with NuSTAR, 340 GHz with ALMA,
and at 2.2 micron with the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope
Interferometer. Two dates show moderate variability with no significant lags
between the submm and the infrared at 99% confidence. July 18 captured a
moderately bright NIR flare (F_K ~ 15 mJy) simultaneous with an X-ray flare (F
~ 0.1 cts/s) that most likely preceded bright submm flux (F ~ 5.5 Jy) by about
+34 (+14 -33) minutes at 99% confidence. The uncertainty in this lag is
dominated by the fact that we did not observe the peak of the submm emission. A
synchrotron source cooled through adiabatic expansion can describe a rise in
the submm once the synchrotron-self-Compton NIR and X-ray peaks have faded.
This model predicts high GHz and THz fluxes at the time of the NIR/X-ray peak
and electron densities well above those implied from average accretion rates
for Sgr A*. However, the higher electron density postulated in this scenario
would be in agreement with the idea that 2019 was an extraordinary epoch with a
heightened accretion rate. Since the NIR and X-ray peaks can also be fit by a
non-thermal synchrotron source with lower electron densities, we cannot rule
out an unrelated chance coincidence of this bright submm flare with the
NIR/X-ray emission.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
First direct detection of an exoplanet by optical interferometry; Astrometry and K-band spectroscopy of HR8799 e
To date, infrared interferometry at best achieved contrast ratios of a few
times on bright targets. GRAVITY, with its dual-field mode, is now
capable of high contrast observations, enabling the direct observation of
exoplanets. We demonstrate the technique on HR8799, a young planetary system
composed of four known giant exoplanets. We used the GRAVITY fringe tracker to
lock the fringes on the central star, and integrated off-axis on the HR8799e
planet situated at 390 mas from the star. Data reduction included
post-processing to remove the flux leaking from the central star and to extract
the coherent flux of the planet. The inferred K band spectrum of the planet has
a spectral resolution of 500. We also derive the astrometric position of the
planet relative to the star with a precision on the order of 100as. The
GRAVITY astrometric measurement disfavors perfectly coplanar stable orbital
solutions. A small adjustment of a few degrees to the orbital inclination of HR
8799 e can resolve the tension, implying that the orbits are close to, but not
strictly coplanar. The spectrum, with a signal-to-noise ratio of
per spectral channel, is compatible with a late-type L brown dwarf. Using
Exo-REM synthetic spectra, we derive a temperature of \,K and a
surface gravity of cm/s. This corresponds to a radius
of and a mass of , which is an independent confirmation of mass estimates from evolutionary
models. Our results demonstrate the power of interferometry for the direct
detection and spectroscopic study of exoplanets at close angular separations
from their stars.Comment: published in A&
Polarimetry and Astrometry of NIR Flares as Event Horizon Scale, Dynamical Probes for the Mass of Sgr A*
We present new astrometric and polarimetric observations of flares from Sgr
A* obtained with GRAVITY, the near-infrared interferometer at ESO's Very Large
Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), bringing the total sample of well-covered
astrometric flares to four and polarimetric ones to six, where we have for two
flares good coverage in both domains. All astrometric flares show clockwise
motion in the plane of the sky with a period of around an hour, and the
polarization vector rotates by one full loop in the same time. Given the
apparent similarities of the flares, we present a common fit, taking into
account the absence of strong Doppler boosting peaks in the light curves and
the EHT-measured geometry. Our results are consistent with and significantly
strengthen our model from 2018: We find that a) the combination of polarization
period and measured flare radius of around nine gravitational radii (, innermost stable circular orbit) is consistent with
Keplerian orbital motion of hot spots in the innermost accretion zone. The mass
inside the flares' radius is consistent with the measured from stellar orbits at several thousand . This
finding and the diameter of the millimeter shadow of Sgr A* thus support a
single black hole model. Further, b) the magnetic field configuration is
predominantly poloidal (vertical), and the flares' orbital plane has a moderate
inclination with respect to the plane of the sky, as shown by the non-detection
of Doppler-boosting and the fact that we observe one polarization loop per
astrometric loop. Moreover, c) both the position angle on sky and the required
magnetic field strength suggest that the accretion flow is fueled and
controlled by the winds of the massive, young stars of the clockwise stellar
disk 1-5 arcsec from Sgr A*, in agreement with recent simulations.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to A&
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