A Study of Sgr A*’s X-ray variability

This project will investigate the duty cycle of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), by studying the Xray
features present in the inner regions of our Galaxy. The X-ray light emitted by Sgr A* over the last several centuries is still
propagating in the central molecular zone, generating X-ray echoes. The variability and the spectral properties of this reflected
emission reveals the existence of several short outbursts from Sgr A* over the corresponding period. Despite an increasing
precision in the description of these past events, their exact nature is still unknown. Our work will connect present-day monitoring
of Sgr A*’s flaring activity to reconstructed evidence of its past activity. This effort will help constrain the energy budget required
for each variability epoch, and its impact on the black hole’s environment.

Faculty Supervisor:

Daryl Haggard

Student:

Partner:

Université Grenoble Alpes

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

McGill University

Program: