Abstract

Multiwavelength Observations of the Galactic Center and Sgr A*

Daryl Haggard (McGill University)

The last several years have seen increasingly ambitious multiwavelength campaigns targeting the Galactic Center and Sgr A*. Most recently, we have undertaken joint Spitzer-Chandra observations to achieve uninterrupted, simultaneous IR/X-ray monitoring of Sgr A* and other Galactic Center transients (including a magnetar and several NS or BH X-ray binary systems) covering several 24 hour intervals. These remarkable programs are designed to study the flare activity and variability of Sgr A*, our closest supermassive black hole. I will outline these and other multiwavelength campaigns targeting the Galactic Center and discuss how these studies can be advanced by JWST, e.g., via JWST/NIRISS high resolution imaging with aperture mask interferometry, which will probe scales from hundreds to thousands of AU at 4.8 micron (Ford et al. 2014), and complement future studies of Sgr A* from the Event Horizon Telescope and 30 m-class adaptive optics enabled telescopes on the ground.

Talk