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Multiwavelength Variability of Sagittarius A* in 2019 JulyWe report a timing analysis of near-infrared (NIR), X-ray, and submillimeter data during a 3 day coordinated campaign observing Sagittarius A* . Data were collected at 4.5 μm with the Spitzer Space Telescope, 2–8 keV with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, 3–70 keV with NuSTAR, 340 GHz with ALMA, and 2.2 μm with the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. Two dates show moderate variability with no significant lags between the submillimeter and the infrared at 99% confidence. A moderately bright NIR flare (FK ∼ 15 mJy) was captured on July 18 simultaneous with an X-ray flare (F2−10 keV ∼ 0.1 counts s−1 ) that most likely preceded bright submillimeter flux (F340 GHz ∼ 5.5 Jy) by about + - + 34 33 14 minutes at 99% confidence. The uncertainty in this lag is dominated by the fact that we did not observe the peak of the submillimeter emission. A synchrotron source cooled through adiabatic expansion can describe a rise in the submillimeter 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 nonthermal synchrotron source with lower electron densities, we cannot rule out an unrelated chance coincidence of this bright submillimeter flare with the NIR/X-ray emission.
Document ID
20220016872
Acquisition Source
2230 Support
Document Type
Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
Authors
H. Boyce ORCID
(McGill University Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
D. Haggard ORCID
(McGill University Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
G. Witzel ORCID
(University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States)
S. von Fellenberg ORCID
(Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
S. P. Willner ORCID
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
E. E. Becklin
(University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States)
T. Do ORCID
(University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States)
A. Eckart ORCID
(Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
G. G. Fazio ORCID
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
M. A. Gurwell ORCID
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
J. L. Hora ORCID
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
S. Markoff ORCID
(University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands)
M. R. Morris ORCID
(University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States)
J. Neilsen ORCID
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
M. Nowak ORCID
(Washington University in St. Louis St Louis, Missouri, United States)
H. A. Smith
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
S. Zhang ORCID
(Bard College Kingston, New York, United States)
Date Acquired
November 7, 2022
Publication Date
May 18, 2022
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher: American Astronomical Society / IOP Publishing
Volume: 931
Issue: 1
Issue Publication Date: May 20, 2022
ISSN: 0004-637X
e-ISSN: 1538-4357
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC18K0416
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
Keywords
Galactic center
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