The supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, situated at the center of the Milky Way, has long fascinated astronomers. While it may not be as active as some other galaxies’ black holes, it still exhibits strange behavior that astrophysicists continue to unravel. In a recent study conducted by Gustavo Magallanes-Guijón and Sergio Mendoza from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a remarkable finding emerged – the pulsing nature of Sagittarius A*.
Magallanes-Guijón and Mendoza made an intriguing observation – every 76 minutes, the gamma-ray flux of Sagittarius A* fluctuates. This regular pattern suggests an orbital motion of an unidentified object swirling around the black hole. The researchers’ findings, which await peer review, have been documented on the preprint server arXiv. This discovery adds another layer to our understanding of the behavior of supermassive black holes.
Black holes themselves are invisible due to their immense gravitational pull, making them undetectable by current telescopes. Although black holes do not emit radiation, the space surrounding them is anything but empty. Sagittarius A* emits light in various wavelengths, and the intensity of this radiation fluctuates over time. Astronomers have previously noticed periodic patterns in different wavelengths. For instance, radio waves experience fluctuations every approximately 70 minutes, while X-ray flares occur every 149 minutes. These timings are related to the recent discovery of gamma radiation associated with Sagittarius A* in 2021.
Unraveling the Mystery
Motivated by the gamma-ray data, Magallanes-Guijón and Mendoza meticulously analyzed publicly available data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. After processing the data, they conducted a search for periodic patterns and successfully identified one. According to their results, Sagittarius A* emits a flare of gamma radiation every 76.32 minutes. This close similarity with the periodicity of radio and X-ray flares suggests a common underlying cause. Notably, the periodicity of the X-ray flare is twice that of the radio flare, indicating a harmonic relationship.
Given that black holes do not emit radiation and periodic patterns often indicate orbital motion, Magallanes-Guijón and Mendoza propose that an object is orbiting Sagittarius A*. They suggest that this object is a blob of hot gas held together by a powerful magnetic field, which causes synchrotron acceleration and subsequent radiation emission. This blob, similar in orbital distance to Mercury around the Sun, travels at incredible speeds, approximately 30 percent of the speed of light. The researchers also find support for their interpretation of the radio data, suggesting that the gas blob emits radiation across multiple wavelengths as it orbits Sagittarius A*.
While this new discovery offers exciting insights into the behavior of Sagittarius A*, there remain many unanswered questions. The study of black holes is challenging, and Sagittarius A* presents its own set of complexities. To unravel the mysteries of this supermassive black hole further, more observations across different wavelengths are necessary. These observations may provide a clearer understanding of the enigmatic heart of our Milky Way.
The pulsing behavior of Sagittarius A* adds to the astonishment surrounding supermassive black holes. Magallanes-Guijón and Mendoza’s study contributes valuable insights into the orbital dynamics and radiation emissions of objects surrounding these cosmic phenomena. By unraveling the mysteries of Sagittarius A*, scientists hope to gain a deeper understanding of black holes and their role in shaping our universe.
Leave a Reply