Multiwavelength Observations of Sgr A*. II. 2019 July 21 and 26

Abstract

We report on the final two days of a multiwavelength campaign of Sgr A* observing in the radio, submillimeter, infrared (IR), and X-ray bands in 2019 July. Sgr A* was remarkably active, showing multiple flaring events across the electromagnetic spectrum. We detect a transient ∼35 minute periodicity feature in Spitzer light curves on 2019 July 21. Time-delayed emission was detected in Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array light curves, suggesting a hotspot within the accretion flow on a stable orbit. On the same night, we observe a decreased flux in the submillimeter light curve following an X-ray flare detected by Chandra , and we model the feature with an adiabatically expanding synchrotron hotspot occulting the accretion flow. The event is produced by a plasma 0.55 R _S in radius with an electron spectrum p = 2.84. It is threaded by a ∼130 Gauss magnetic field and expands at 0.6% the speed of light. Finally, we reveal an unambiguous flare in the IR, submillimeter, and radio, demonstrating that the variable emission is intrinsically linked. We jointly fit the radio and submillimeter light curves using an adiabatically expanding synchrotron hotspot and find it is produced by a plasma with an electron spectrum p = 0.59, 187 Gauss magnetic field, and radius 0.47 R _S that expands at 0.029 c . In both cases, the uncertainty in the appropriate lower and upper electron energy bounds may inflate the derived equipartition field strengths by a factor of 2 or more. Our results confirm that both synchrotron- and adiabatic-cooling processes are involved in the variable emission’s evolution at submillimeter and IR wavelengths.

Keywords

• Galactic center
• Active galactic nuclei
• Supermassive black holes