The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole

Fulvio Melia

Princeton University Press, 2007 - Science - 296 pages

Here, one of the world's leading astrophysicists provides the first comprehensive and logically structured overview of the many ideas and discoveries pertaining to the supermassive black hole at the galactic center known as Sagittarius A*. By far the closest galactic nucleus in the universe, Sagittarius A* alone can provide us with a realistic expectation of learning about the physics of strong gravitational fields, and the impact of such fields on the behavior of matter and radiation under severe physical conditions. Its proximity may even provide the opportunity to directly test one of general relativity's most enigmatic predictions--the existence of closed pockets of space-time hidden behind an event horizon.

The plethora of research on Sagittarius A* since its discovery in 1974 has long seemed an interwoven pattern of loose threads. No one has successfully synthesized this growing body of work into a manageable, coherent book both for professional researchers and for students taking courses focusing on black holes and galactic nuclei--until now. With Fulvio Melia's The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole, readers finally have at their disposal a one-volume crucible of essential ideas, logically streamlined but with thorough references for those wishing to explore the various topics in greater depth.

Contents

• The Galactic Center: 1
• 11 Discovery of Sagittarius A: 2
• 12 Radio Morphology of the Central Region: 5
• 13 XRay Morphology of the Central Region: 10
• 14 Sagittarius A East: 17
• The Radio Source Sagittarius A: 25
• 21 Position of Sagittarius A: 27
• 22 Proper Motion: 32
• 23 Structure as a Function of Frequency: 37
• Sagittarius As Spectrum: 42
• 32 Linear and Circular Polarization: 46
• 33 Infrared Observations: 55
• 34 Xray Observations: 58
• 35 Observed HighEnergy Characteristics: 65
• Variability: 71
• 42 LongTerm Variability in the Radio: 81
• The Central Star Cluster: 86
• 51 The Stellar Cusp Surrounding the Black Hole: 87
• 52 Stellar Constituents and Dynamics: 101
• 53 Stellar Orbits and the Enclosed Mass: 109
• The FourDimensional Spacetime: 114
• 62 Relativistic Transformation of Physical Laws: 126
• 63 Accelerated Frames: 132
• 64 General Relativity: 137
• 65 Particle Orbits and Trajectories: 140
• 66 The Kerr Metric: 149
• Mass Accretion and Expulsion: 156
• 71 Sagittarius As Gaseous Environment: 158
• 72 BondiHoyle Capture from Distributed Sources: 162
• 73 Accretion Close to Sagittarius A: 165
• 74 Magnetic Field Dissipation: 167
• 75 A Compact Magnetized Disk: 176
• 76 Expulsion of Matter: 204
• Flares: 226
• 82 Periodicity: 234
• 83 General Relativistic Flux Modulations: 240
• Strong Field Physics: 245
• 91 SpinInduced Disk Precession: 246
• 92 Microlensing: 251
• 93 Imaging the Shadow of the Black Hole: 259
• References: 265
• Index: 287

Popular passages

Page 273 - The accelerations of stars orbiting the Milky Way's central black hole ,

Page 283 - THE POSSIBLE RELATION OF THE 3-KILOPARSEC ARM TO EXPLOSIONS IN THE GALACTIC NUCLEUS.

Page 272 - FAME- Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer". Amer. Astron. Society, DDA meeting n.31, n. 14.01, Washington DC, 1999; 5. Bastian, S. Roser. RD Scholz, "DIVA, the Next Global Astrometry and Photometry Mission", in Dynamics of Star Clusters and the Milky Way, ASP Conference Series.

Page 266 - The star distribution around a massive black hole in a globular cluster. II. Unequal star masses.

Page 268 - Jets in Sagittarius A: Gas Dynamics in the Central Parsec of the Galaxy," The Astrophysical Journal 262 (1982), pp.

Page 279 - Models for High-Frequency Radio Outbursts in Extragalactic Sources, with Application to the Early 1983 Millimeter-toInfrared Flare of 3C 273," The Astrophysicd journal 298 (1985), pp.

About the author

Fulvio Melia is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Arizona and Associate Editor of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. His books include The Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy (Princeton), The Edge of Infinity: Supermassive Black Holes in the Universe, and Electrodynamics.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole; Princeton paperbacks
• Author: Fulvio Melia
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2007
• ISBN: 0691131295, 9780691131290
• Length: 296 pages
• Subjects: Science / Astronomy; Science / Physics / Astrophysics