The First Mid-Infrared Detection of a Source Coincident with Sagittarius A *

Details The First Mid-Infrared Detection of a Source Coincident with Sagittarius A * The First Mid-Infrared Detection of a Source Coincident with Sagittarius A *

Oct 1996

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996apj...470l..45s&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal Letters v.470, p.L45

Physics

30

Galaxy: Center, Black Hole Physics, Infrared: Ism: Continuum, Ism: Dust, Extinction, Techniques: Image Processing

Scientific paper

We present the first mid-infrared detection of a source coincident with the black hole candidate Sgr A* in a deep image of the inner parsec of the Galaxy. These data were obtained with SpectroCam-10 at the 200 inch (5.08 m) Hale telescope. The source was detected at 8.7 mu m on two separate occasions using different observing techniques. The spatial resolution is ~0."7 and the noise level is 1.6 mJy beam-1 in the combined mosaic near Sgr A*. A source at Sgr A* is weakly apparent in the raw data but is difficult to identify due to strong diffuse dust emission with a mean flux density of 500 mJy arcsec-2. Several deconvolution techniques were applied to achieve the diffraction limit of 0."44, all of which revealed a peak on a narrow NW--SE ridge of emission. The peak is coincident with Sgr A* within the +/-0."3 uncertainty in locating Sgr A* relative to IRS 7. We estimate the flux density of the Sgr A* source above the ridge to be 25 +/- 5 mJy. The extinction-corrected 8.7 mu m flux density of ~100 mJy is significantly greater than what is predicted by dustless accretion disk models. The excess emission is best explained by warm dust which may be associated with Sgr A* or heated by local stellar sources.

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