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  1. OA@INAF
  2. PRODOTTI RICERCA INAF
  3. 1 CONTRIBUTI IN RIVISTE (Journal articles)
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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/29400
Title: Simultaneous X-Ray and Infrared Observations of Sagittarius A*'s Variability
Authors: Boyce, H.
Haggard, D.
Witzel, G.
Willner, S. P.
Neilsen, J.
Hora, J. L.
Markoff, S.
PONTI, GABRIELE 
Baganoff, F.
Becklin, E. E.
Fazio, G. G.
Lowrance, P.
Morris, M. R.
Smith, H. A.
Issue Date: 2019
Journal: THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 
Number: 871
Issue: 2
First Page: 161
Abstract: Emission from Saggitarius A* is highly variable at both X-ray and infrared (IR) wavelengths. Observations over the last ∼20 yr have revealed X-ray flares that rise above a quiescent thermal background about once per day, while faint X-ray flares from Sgr A* are undetectable below the constant thermal emission. In contrast, the IR emission of Sgr A* is observed to be continuously variable. Recently, simultaneous observations have indicated a rise in IR flux density around the same time as every distinct X-ray flare, while the opposite is not always true (peaks in the IR emission may not be coincident with an X-ray flare). Characterizing the behavior of these simultaneous X-ray/IR events and measuring any time lag between them can constrain models of Sgr A*'s accretion flow and the flare emission mechanism. Using 100+ hours of data from a coordinated campaign between the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, we present results of the longest simultaneous IR and X-ray observations of Sgr A* taken to date. The cross-correlation between the IR and X-ray light curves in this unprecedented data set, which includes four modest X-ray/IR flares, indicates that flaring in the X-ray may lead the IR by approximately 10-20 min with 68% confidence. However, the 99.7% confidence interval on the time-lag also includes zero, i.e., the flaring remains statistically consistent with simultaneity. Long-duration and simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of additional bright flares will improve our ability to constrain the flare timing characteristics and emission mechanisms, and must be a priority for Galactic Center observing campaigns.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/29400
URL: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aaf71f
ISSN: 0004-637X
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aaf71f
Bibcode ADS: 2019ApJ...871..161B
Fulltext: open
Appears in Collections:1.01 Articoli in rivista

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