Our Galactic supermassive black hole Sgr A*: the ideal testbed for theories of accretion/gravity and black hole life cycles

Our Galactic supermassive black hole Sgr A*: the ideal testbed for theories of accretion/gravity and black hole life cycles Sera Markoff (API, University of Amsterdam) [F. Baganoff, P. Biermann, G. Bower, J. Dexter, S. Dibi, S. Drappeau, E. Gallo, H. Falcke, C. Fragile, C. Froning, E. Körding, R. Hynes, D. Maitra, J. Nip, M. Nowak, R. Plotkin, F. Yuan] (Image credit: Farhad Yusef-Zadeh)

Black holes are central engines in the universe Conversion of rest mass to other forms of energy via gravity (accretion) is extremely efficient The energy liberated from matter as it infalls (due to losing angular momentum) from rout to rin is just the difference in the total energy: L = = [( GM [ 0 2r out ) ( GM 2r in For a black hole, depending on its spin, total conversion efficiency is ~10-40% (much higher than nuclear fusion!!) ( GM )] 2r in )] Ṁ Ṁ = GMṀ 2r in rin ~ ξrg=ξgm/c2 L=Ṁc 2 /(2ξ)

Black holes + accreting matter = enormous feedback! ~ 600k light years across! (McNamara et al. 2005)

Black holes + accreting matter = enormous feedback! Single BH, via its jets, injects 10 62 ergs, providing enough energy to raise every particle inside the cluster by 1/3 kev!! (McNamara et al. 2005)

Black holes are central players in the universe (this talk!) Astrophysics Cosmology/ Theoretical physics (Volker Springel) Particle Physics (Francis Halzen)

Astrophysics/ particle physics Some big questions involving black holes Cosmology Theor. Physics How do they grow over cosmological timescales? How does their growth relate to their host galaxy growth? How fast are they spinning, and what determines this spin? Does GR give the correct description of their affect on spacetime? How are relativistic jets launched, and what determines eventual particle acceleration? How much power is in the jets? How does the entire accretion process (leading to various feedback effects) depend on black hole mass, spin, and the surrounding environment?

Astrophysics/ particle physics Cosmology Theor. Physics Some big questions involving black holes How do they grow over cosmological timescales? How does their growth relate to their host galaxy growth? How fast are they spinning, and what determines this spin? We need access to near-event horizon physics in a source that can be well-understood Does GR give the correct description of their affect on spacetime? Introducing: Sagittarius (Sgr) A*!! How are relativistic jets launched, and what determines eventual particle acceleration? How much power is in the jets? How does the entire accretion process (leading to various feedback effects) depend on black hole mass, spin, and the surrounding environment?

Outline An exposed black hole: brief intro to Sgr A* Accretion around Sgr A*: current paradigm Using Sgr A* to train our GRMHD simulations Application of Fundamental Plane (mass scaling accretion physics at low ṁ) to Sgr A* Potential to image the event horizon of Sgr A* Outlook & Summary

Context: zooming in on Sgr A* MIR: Spitzer IRAC (Ramirez, Stolovy, Arendt)

Context: zooming in on Sgr A* Radio: VLA 6cm (Lang), 20cm (Yusef-Zadeh), 90cm (Lazio) Sgr B Sgr C 10 pc

Context: zooming in on Sgr A*

Context: zooming in on Sgr A* (Yusef-Zadeh ea. 00)

Context: zooming in on Sgr A* (Yusef-Zadeh ea. 93,00; Genzel ea. 03)

How to weigh a black hole: Sgr A* Orbits: MBH=4x10 6 M Lowest luminosity black hole we know! L = 10-9 LEdd! (Genzel et al., 92-04, Ghez et al., 95-04)

Stellar orbits and types measured Can estimate available fuel for SMBH Estimates based on stellar winds and simulations thereof: 10-5 10-3 M /yr At 10% efficiency would expect LBol 10 4 10 2 LEdd (Coker & Melia 97, 00, Cuadra ea. 05)

Sgr A* quiescent spectrum Very weak! Typical LLAGN PL? Typical LLAGN X-ray flux? Lx L =2x10 33 erg/s =10-11 LEdd!? Diffuse gas from outer accretion flow Ṁ 10-6 M /yr Yuan et al. 2003

Sgr A* quiescent spectrum Very weak! The extremely Typical low X-ray LLAGN PL? flux was already a shocker for theorists! Typical LLAGN Since then: Faraday rotation measures X-ray flux? give 10-9 10-7 M /yr, depending on magnetic field geometry and equipartion Sgr A* must have been more Diffuse active gas from in past! Lx L =2x10 33 erg/s outer accretion flow =10-11 LEdd!? Ṁ 10-6 M /yr Yuan et al. 2003

But wait, there s more! Daily X-ray flares Sgr A* flares about once a day, typically few-10x quiescent flux, sometimes 100x Nonthermal dominates over thermal in X-rays, timescale origin w/in 10 s of Rg of black hole! (Baganoff ea. 2001, Nature; SM ea. 2001; Yuan ea. 2003; Dodds-Eden ea 2009,2011, etc.)

Sgr A* in quiescence physical models (very good constraints on <10rs conditions) Jet + leaky ADAF Synchrotron: γe 100 e s, B 20-50 G w/in 10 s of Rg (Narayan ea. 98; Blandford & Begelman 99; Quataert & Gruzinov 00; SM ea. 01; Yuan, SM & Falcke ea. 02; Yuan ea. 03)

Sgr A* flaring hints about plasma processes near BH SSC (Porquet et al. 08) Synchro (SM et al. 01, 03) About 20 flares detected so far. Larger flares show hiccups (Porquet et al. 2008) like aftershocks! Most models focus on SSC/synchrotron processes (SM ea.; Liu & Melia; Yuan, Quatert & Narayan; Yusef-Zadeh ea.; Dodds-Eden ea., etc.; but see Zubovas, Nayakshin & SM (2012) for a fun alternative!)

Can we reproduce Sgr A* numerically?

Advancing the Astrophysical Model 3D Magnetohydrodynamics General Relativity Inflow: Accretion Outflow: Jets BH MHD interface (ISCO) Microphysics: Heating & cooling of particles Radiation Transport Can we reproduce basic parameters, spectrum, size, and variability of Sgr A*? (Gammie et al.)

Simulation startup (Cosmos++) (zoom) (Cosmos++: Anninos, Fragile & Salmonson 2005; Drappeau, Fragile, SM & Dexter 2012)

Simulation startup (Cosmos++) (zoom) (Cosmos++: Anninos, Fragile & Salmonson 2005; Dibi, Drappeau, Fragile, SM & Dexter 2012)

Targeting desired Ṁ log( Accretion Rate [ solar mass / yr] ) -5-6 -7-8 -9-10 B4S9T3M7C B4S9T3M8C B4S9T3M9C -11 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Time [orbit] (Dibi, Drappeau, Fragile, SM & Dexter 2012)

ν L ν [erg/s] Spectra: confirmation of low Ṁ 10 39 10 38 10 37 sgra data 10-7 10-8 10-9 10 36 10 35 10 34 10 33 10 32 10 31 10 30 10 8 10 10 10 12 10 14 10 16 10 18 10 20 ν [Hz] (Drappeau, Dibi, Dexter, SM & Fragile, subm.)

Effect of cooling on temperature and structure (Dibi, Drappeau, Fragile, SM & Dexter 2012)

Best fit to submm bump with 10-9 M /yr ν L ν [erg/s] 10 36 10 35 10 34 10 33 10 32 Also ok! sgra data B4S9T3M9C This is ok! 10 31 10 30 10 8 10 10 10 12 10 14 10 16 10 18 10 20 ν [Hz] (Drappeau, Dibi, Dexter, SM & Fragile, subm.)

Jets are not realistic next frontier (Dibi, Drappeau, Fragile, SM & Dexter 2012)

Effect of black hole spin on spectrum 10 37 10 36 10 35 sgra data a * =0 a * =0.5 a * =0.7 a * =0.9 a * =0.98 a * =-0.9 ν L ν [erg/s] 10 34 10 33 10 32 10 31 10 30 10 8 10 10 10 12 10 14 10 16 10 18 10 20 ν [Hz] (Drappeau, Dibi, Dexter, SM & Fragile, subm.)

Sgr A* in context: is what we re learning here relevant for other, more luminous systems?

Can we compare sources across the MBH scale? Supermassive BH= Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) (Jets optional) X-ray Binary: Black hole/neutron star Donor star Jet compact corona Accretion disk corona Accretion disk MBH ~ 10 7-9 M 10 4-5 yrs! MBH ~ 10 M 1 day

Fundamental plane of BH accretion: Mass & Power scales Log LR (erg/s) Stellar BHs (XRBs) Supermassive BHs (AGN) 0.6 Lg LX + Log 0.78 LX Lg (erg/s) M (erg/s) (SM et al. 2003; Merloni,Heinz & dimatteo 2003; Falcke, Körding & SM 2004; SM 2005; Merloni et al. 2006; Kording et al. 2006; Gültekin et al. 2009; Plotkin, SM et al. 2011) (movie courtesy of S. Heinz)

Fundamental plane of BH accretion: Mass & Power scales Log LR (erg/s) Supermassive BHs (AGN) BHs (with Stellar compact BHs jets) seem to regulate (XRBs) their radiative and mechanical luminosity similarly, at a given (linear w/r/t mass) Eddington accretion rate ṁ= Ṁ/ṀEdd 0.6 Lg LX + Log 0.78 LX Lg (erg/s) M (erg/s) (SM et al. 2003; Merloni,Heinz & dimatteo 2003; Falcke, Körding & SM 2004; SM 2005; Merloni et al. 2006; Kording et al. 2006; Gültekin et al. 2009; Plotkin, SM et al. 2011) (movie courtesy of S. Heinz)

Sgr A* on the Fundamental Plane: flare state (SM 2005; Plotkin, SM, Kelly, Körding & Anderson 2011)

Was Sgr A* more active in the past? 6-7 kev X-rays M0.11-0.11 cloud Sagittarius A* 30 pc Try to ignore the X-ray binary Sgr B clouds Sgr C cloud (Muno et al., Ponti et al. etc.) Has been suggested that the best source is prior activity of Sgr A* (Koyama ea. 96, Murakami ea 00, Revnivtsev ea. 04) but some 1 controversy pc about source of ionization Chandra can actually resolve the wave of fluorescence, must be hard photons Implies L 10 39 erg/s outburst lasting 10 yrs, about 100 years ago!

90 1 GeV < E < 2 GeV 90 2 GeV < E < 5 GeV 1.0 45 45 North bubble Loop I 1.0 kev cm -2 s -1 sr -1 0.5 0 0.0-0.5-45 North arc 0-45 0.5 0.0 kev cm -2 s -1 sr -1-0.5-1.0-90 180 90 0-90 -180-90 180 90 0-90 -180 0.8 90 0.6 5 GeV < E < 10 GeV Donut 90 10 GeV < E < 20 GeV 0.4 kev cm -2 s -1 sr -1 45 0.4 0.2 0 0.0-45 -0.2 45 0-45 South bubble 0.2 0.0-0.2 kev cm -2 s -1 sr -1-0.4-90 180 90 0-90 -180-90 180 90 0-90 -180 Figures courtesy Meng Su

Imaging the event horizon: the next science horizon for Sgr A*

Observing structure in Sgr A*: caught between a rock and a hard place (τ vs e - scattering) 0.1 mpc (300 R s ) λ 2 -law (Bower et al. 2004, 2006; Doeleman et al. 2008) Lo et al. (1998)

Observing structure in Sgr A*: caught between a rock and a hard place (τ vs e - scattering) 0.1 mpc (300 R s ) With the latest radio global interferometry techniques, we are close to imaging the event horizon! (factor of 3 to go) Event Horizon Telescope (Doeleman et al. 2011) is next frontier λ 2 -law (Bower et al. 2004, 2006; Doeleman et al. 2008) Lo et al. (1998)

VLBI* the sharpest view in astronomy A pea in New York (radiating one milli-watt) could be resolved by VLBI from Groningen If someone moves the pea by one millimeter,we would see this too. pea Pea Tower USA *Very Long Baseline Interferometry (slide courtesy of H. Falcke)

1.3mmλ VLBI Observations of Sgr A* 4030km 908km 4630km ARO Submm Telescope, JCMT@Mauna Kea and 1 CARMA element (Doeleman et al. 2008, Nature)

Sgr A*: predicted size of radio source 300 Rs 30 Rs 3 Rs 220 GHz Doeleman et al. (2008) 89 GHz Shen et al. (2006) Bower et al. (2008) 43 GHz 22 GHz systematic error due to scattering law Shadow of event horizon (Falcke, SM, Bower 2009)

Ray-Tracing in the Kerr Metric Sgr A* s emission is optically thin on event horizon scales! Photon orbits are bent due to the black hole s effect on spacetime metric At R~4-5Rg orbits can become circular Closer orbits end at the event horizon Produces a ring and (if there is an event horizon) a shadow in the emitting region around the black hole! Photon Orbit event horizon Light Ray

Future mm-vlbi (Event Horizon Telescope) Existing facilities: JCMT, CARMA, SMT, SPT SPT-JCMT: 15.000km (~5µas) Under construction: LMT, ALMA New ones? LLAMA (Argentina) Peru?

Shadow Industry J. Dolence

Summary & Outlook Black holes are key players in the universe, and Sgr A* is a fantastic testbed for accretion theory and black hole studies in general! We are able to capture accretion flow characteristics very well, giving a solid baseline for building models of jet formation and feedback Fundamental Plane: Sgr A* s nonthermal activity is typical despite low luminosity what we are learning from Sgr A* is applicable to other BHs! flares are key for understanding jet launching/particle acceleration Event horizon physics: Sgr A* s weakness is its strength! Optical transparency allows detection of photon ring and shadow of event horizon using submillimeter VLBI (EHT) Outlook: Improved models/simulations: need to capture jets better EHT: Use improved models for predictions of imaging, polarization Prior outburst: More work to characterize past history, model contribution, understand our Galaxy s more active past XVP: 3Megasec with Chandra X-ray Observatory!

Chandra-HETG observations of Sgr A*: an X-ray Visionary Project for 2012 (PIs: Baganoff, SM, Nowak) 3Msec (35 days!) exposure of Galactic Center, 20 observations Will double the photon/flare counts for Sgr A* within a year compared to the last decade, much higher cadence for flare detections First ever high resolution X-ray spectra of Sgr A* and GC diffuse emission (+ point sources) Will spatially and spectrally resolve extended emission on scale of gravitational capture radius (1-2 ) Will constrain energy and width of known Fe complex around 6.6 kev key plasma diagnostics Will detect optically thin He- and H-like emission lines (Si, S, Ar) predicted by radiatively inefficient accretion models Will avoid (~40%) pileup can constrain flare spectrum!

Chandra-HETG observations of Sgr A*: an X-ray Visionary Project for 2012 (PIs: Baganoff, SM, Nowak) 3Msec (35 days!) exposure of Galactic Center, 20 observations Will double the photon/flare counts for Sgr A* within a year compared 4 10x in 5hrs! to the last decade, ~100x! much higher cadence for flare detections First ever high resolution X-ray spectra of Sgr A* and GC diffuse emission (+ point sources) Will spatially and spectrally resolve extended emission on scale of gravitational capture radius (1-2 ) Will constrain energy and width of known Fe complex around 6.6 kev key plasma diagnostics Will detect optically thin He- and H-like emission lines (Si, S, Ar) predicted by radiatively inefficient accretion models Will avoid (~40%) pileup can constrain flare spectrum!

A Gas Cloud Disrupted by the Black Hole Gillessen et al (2012, Nature)