The spectrum of Sgr A* and its variability

Abstract

We demonstrate that there is only one physical process required to explain the spectrum and the variability of the radio source at the dynamical center of our Galaxy, Sgr A*, in the frequency range from $\approx$1 to $\approx$1000 GHz, namely optically thin synchrotron radiation that is emitted from a population of relativistic electrons. We attribute the observed variability to variable energy input from an accretion disk around Sgr A* into the acceleration of the electrons.

6 pages, 2 figures, A&A-TeX, uuencoded file with PostScript files of the paper and the figures Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie (Bonn, Germany) Preprint Series No.566 accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics