Related papers: The Galactic Center stellar cluster: The central a…
Observations of the innermost parsec surrounding Sgr A$^*$ ---the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy--- have revealed a diversity of structures whose existence and characteristics apparently defy the fundamental principles…
The centre of the Milky Way is occupied by a nuclear star cluster, which contains the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. The cluster is embedded in the larger surrounding nuclear stellar disc. These three components dominate the mass budget of…
High-velocity stars and peculiar G objects orbit the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Together, the G objects and high-velocity stars constitute the S cluster. In contrast with theoretical predictions, no…
We use 23 years of astrometric and radial velocity data on the orbit of the star S0-2 to constrain a hypothetical intermediate-mass black hole orbiting the massive black hole Sgr A* at the Galactic center. The data place upper limits on…
We present some preliminary results of our work about the close encounter of binary stars hosting planets on S-type orbits with the Sgr A* supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy.
The measurement of relativistic effects around the galactic center may allow in the near future to strongly constrain the parameters of the supermassive black hole likely present at the galactic center (Sgr A*). As a by-product of these…
The near-infrared emission from the black hole at the Galactic center (Sgr A*) has unique properties. The most striking feature is a suggestive periodic sub-structure that has been observed in a couple of flares so far. Using near-infrared…
A massive young star cluster, initially embedded in its parent molecular cloud, will spiral into the Galactic Center from $\lta 30m_6^{1/2}\pc$ during the life-time of its most massive stars, if the combined total mass is $\sim…
We study the young S-stars within a distance of 0.04 pc from the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy. Given how inhospitable the region is for star formation, their presence is more puzzling the younger we estimate their…
The origin, structure and evolution of the small gas cloud, G2, is investigated, that is on an orbit almost straight into the Galactic central supermassive black hole (SMBH). G2 is a sensitive probe of the hot accretion zone of Sgr A*,…
Searching for radio pulsars orbiting around the Galactic centre black hole (BH), Sagittarius A$^\star$ (Sgr A$^\star$), represents a holy grail goal for large-area radio telescopes, in particular for the Square Kilometre Array. Follow-up…
Recent observations of the radio and NIR source Sgr A* reinforce the interpretation of the Galactic Center as a scaled down version of an AGN. The discovery of an elongated structure at 43 GHz and increasing evidence for the presence of an…
We report 75 milli-arcsec resolution, near-IR imaging spectroscopy within the central 30 light days of the Galactic Center [...]. To a limiting magnitude of K~16, 9 of 10 stars in the central 0.4 arcsec, and 13 of 17 stars out to 0.7 arcsec…
An attempt is made to reconcile the large wind-loss rates of stars in the Galactic Centre (GC) with the predicted low accretion rate for Sgr A*, the putative blackhole at the heart of the Milky Way. It is found that, independent of the…
Recent proper motion studies of stars at the very center of the Galaxy strongly suggest that Sagittarius (Sgr) A*, the compact nonthermal radio source at the Galactic Center, is a 2.5 million solar mass black hole. By means of…
In this paper we review and discuss some of the intriguing properties of the Galactic Center supermassive black hole candidate Sgr A*. Of all possible black hole sources, the event horizon of Sgr A*, subtends the largest angular scale on…
We summarize the current state of polarization observations of Sagittarius A*, the compact radio source and supermassive black hole candidate in the Galactic Center. These observations are providing new tools for understanding accretion…
We discuss the possibility of enhancing intelligent life searches toward the Galactic center. From the clockwork orbital motions of stars around the Sgr A${}^*$ black hole, we can determine the distance to the Galactic center at an…
We analyze deep near-IR adaptive optics imaging as well as new proper motion data of the nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way. The surface density distribution of faint stars peaks within 0.2" of the black hole candidate SgrA*. The radial…
The compact radio source Sagittarius~A$^*$ (Sgr~A$^*$)in the Galactic Center is the primary supermassive black hole candidate. General relativistic magnetohydrodynamical (GRMHD) simulations of the accretion flow around Sgr\,A$^*$ predict…