What is the nature of accretion onto Sgr A*?

Chris Matzner

University of Toronto

The massive black hole at the centre of the MIlky Way is remarkably dim for its mass, and efforts to understand this fact have led to proposals of new flow classes involving convection, winds, and poor electron coupling. I shall argue that the observational constraints point to a solution which is unlike most of these proposals, but which resembles simulations of "magnetically-frustrated" flows. These simulations make additional predictions, concerning the time dependence and rotational properties of the flow, which may be tested against future observations.

Date:	Vendredi, le 20 novembre 2009
Heure:	12:30
Lieu:	Université Laval
	Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, Local 1661
Contact:	Hugo Martel