The Massive Black Hole at the Center of the Galaxy and its Immediate Environment

银河系中心的大质量黑洞及其周围环境

• 批准号: 1109753
• 负责人: Farhad Yusef-Zadeh
• 金额: $ 44.65万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-08-15 至 2016-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1109753&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Massive; Black; Hole; Center; Galaxy

Dr. Yusef-Zadeh and his team study the massive black hole at the center of our Galaxy. The black hole is associated with the radio source Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) that is centered on two clusters of evolved and young stars. The accretion of ionized thermal winds from nearby young stars onto the black hole is responsible for the luminosity of Sgr A*. On a scale of a few light years, molecular material is distributed in a ring orbiting both Sgr A* and the cluster of stars. The gaseous and stellar systems co-exist spatially and physically interact with the massive black hole. Observations at radio, sub-millimeter, X-ray and infrared wavelengths probe variability and flaring activity. The emission properties of Sgr A* are probed using data from multiple space- and ground-bases observatories (e.g., Herschel, ALMA, EVLA, ATCA, VLBA, CSO, HST and Chandra). Observational results and theory are combined to study the dynamics, accretion rate, and effects on the surrounding stellar populations of the massive black hole at the center of Galaxy. The work will advance our understanding of star formation in the extreme tidal environment around the central black hole; and how mass loss from massive stars feeds the black hole. The team has developed interactive image viewers to bring astronomical images to the public and new results from this research will be included (http://spaceimages.northwestern.edu). There is a collaboration with the Space Visualization Laboratory at the Adler Planetarium. Narrative WorldWide Telescope Tours about the variability of emission from Sgr A* and star formation in the Galactic center are planned, and the Galactic center research will be shared with the public through Adler's "Astronomy Conversation" program.

Yusef-Zadeh博士和他的团队正在研究银河系中心的巨大黑洞。该黑洞与射电源人马座A*（Sgr A*）有关，该射电源以两个演化恒星和年轻恒星集群为中心。Sgr A* 的光度是由附近年轻恒星的电离热风吸积到黑洞上造成的。在几光年的尺度上，分子物质分布在一个围绕着Sgr A* 和星团的环中。气体和恒星系统在空间上共存，并与大质量黑洞发生物理相互作用。无线电、亚毫米波、X射线和红外波长的观测探测了变化和耀斑活动。使用来自多个空间和地面观测站的数据探测Sgr A* 的发射特性（例如，Herschel、阿尔马、EVLA、ATCA、VLBA、CSO、HST和Chandra）。结合观测结果和理论研究了银河系中心大质量黑洞的动力学、吸积速率及其对周围恒星种群的影响。这项工作将推进我们对中心黑洞周围极端潮汐环境中星星形成的理解;以及大质量恒星的质量损失如何为黑洞提供养分。该小组已经开发了交互式图像浏览器，将天文图像带给公众，这项研究的新成果将被包括在内（http：spaceimages.northwestern.edu）。与阿德勒天文馆的空间可视化实验室进行了合作。关于银河系中心Sgr A* 和星星形成的发射变化的叙述性环球望远镜图尔斯之旅正在计划中，银河系中心的研究将通过阿德勒的“天文学对话”计划与公众分享。