Do flares in Sagittarius A* reflect the last stage of tidal capture?
arXiv:0708.2696 · doi:10.1063/1.2399625
Abstract
In recent years the case for the presence of 3-4 10^6 M_sun black hole in our Galactic Center has gained strength from results of stellar dynamics observations and from the detection of several rapid X-ray and IR flares observed in the Sagittarius A* from 2000 to 2004. Here we explore the idea that such flares are produced when the central black hole tidally captures and disrupts a small body - e.g. a comet or an asteroid.
6 pages, 9 figures, acknowledgments added, to appear in the Proceedings of the Albert Einstein's Century International Conference, Paris 2005