Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994apj...426..599m&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 426, no. 2, p. 599-603
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
26
Active Galactic Nuclei, Black Holes (Astronomy), Gamma Rays, Particle Emission, Particle Production, Sagittarius Constellation, Space Plasmas, Stellar Mass Accretion, X Ray Sources, Estimates, Relativistic Electron Beams, Stellar Mass
Scientific paper
If, as many believe, Sgr A* is a massive black hole at the Galactic center, one should expect it to be a source of X-ray and gamma-ray activity, behaving basically as a scaled-down active galactic nucleus. An unavoidable source of accretion is the wind from IRS 16, a nearby group of hot, massive stars. Since the density and velocity of the accreting matter are known from observations, the accretion rate is basically a function of the putative black hole mass, Mh, only; this value represents a reliable lower limit to a real rate, given the other possible sources of accreting matter. Based on this and on the theories about shock acceleration in active galactic nuclei, we have estimated the expected production of relativistic particles and their hard radiation. These values turn out to be a function of Mh as well. Comparing our results with available X-ray and gamma-ray observations which show Sgr A* to have a relatively low activity level, we conclude tentatively that the putative black hole in the Galactic center cannot have a mass greater than approximately 6 x 103 solar mass. This conclusion is consistent with the upper limits to the black hole mass found by different methods earlier, although much more work is needed to make calculations of shock acceleration around black holes more reliable.
Mastichiadis Apostolos
Ozernoy Leonid M.
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