Related papers: Oscillating axion bubbles as alternative to superm…
The compact dark objects with very large masses residing at the centres of galaxies are believed to be black holes. Due to the gravitational lensing effect, they would cast a shadow larger than their horizon size over the background, whose…
The Galactic center provides a unique astrophysical laboratory for us to study various astrophysical processes. In this paper, we review and outline the latest results from observations of Sgr~A$^*$ in terms of source structure and…
Black holes in binaries with other compact objects can provide natural venues for indirect detection of axions or other ultralight fields. The superradiant instability associated with a rapidly spinning black hole leads to the creation of…
Assuming that the compact source at the Galactic center, Sagittarius A*, is a massive boson star, we fit the near-infrared flare astrometry data. We consider 12 discrete boson star configurations and model the flare as a hotspot on a…
This chapter provides a detailed overview of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, located in the dense Galactic Center region approximately 8 kpc from Earth. Despite its relatively low…
The supermassive black hole at the Galactic center, Sagittarius A*, has experienced periods of higher activity in the past. The reflection of these past outbursts is observed in the molecular material surrounding the black hole but…
We analyze the dynamics and observational signatures of axion clouds formed via the superradiant instability around primordial black holes, focusing on the mass range $10^{14}-10^{18}$ kg where the latter may account for all the dark…
In the centre of our galaxy lies a super-massive black hole, identified with the radio source Sagittarius A*. This black hole has an estimated mass of around 4 million solar masses. Although Sagittarius A* is quite dim in terms of total…
Measurements of stellar orbits provide compelling evidence that the compact radio source Sagittarius A* at the Galactic Centre is a black hole four million times the mass of the Sun. With the exception of modest X-ray and infrared flares,…
Super-Massive Black Holes reside in galactic nuclei, where they exhibit episodic bright flares due to accretion events. Taking into account relativistic effects, namely, the boosting and lensing of X-ray flares, we further examine the…
The relatively rapid spatial and temporal variability of the X-ray radiation from some molecular clouds near the Galactic center shows that this emission component is due to the reflection of X-rays generated by a source that was luminous…
The center of our Galaxy hosts the best constrained supermassive black hole in the universe, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Its mass and distance have been accurately determined from stellar orbits and proper motion studies, respectively, and its…
Variable emission from Sgr~A*, the luminous counterpart to the super-massive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, arises from the innermost portions of the accretion flow. Better characterization of the variability is important for…
It has recently been suggested that the presence of a plenitude of light axions, an Axiverse, is evidence for the extra dimensions of string theory. We discuss the observational consequences of these axions on astrophysical black holes…
Most galactic nuclei are now believed to harbour supermassive black holes. Studies of stellar motions in the central few light-years of our Milky Way Galaxy indicate the presence of a dark object with a mass of about 2.6 million solar…
In recent years, near-IR and X-ray flares have been detected from the Galaxy's central radio point source, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), believed to be a \~3.10^6 solar masses supermassive black hole. In some cases, the transient emission…
Axions, encompassing both QCD axions and axion-like particles, can generate loop-induced quadratic couplings to electromagnetic field strength tensors, resulting in oscillatory shifts of the fine-structure constant. Near a Kerr black hole,…
The enigmatic radio source Sagittarius A* at the centre of our Galaxy appears to be a low-luminosity version of active galactic nuclei in other galaxies. By analogy with active galactic nuclei models, it has been proposed that Sgr A* may be…
The centre of the Milky Way hosts a supermassive black hole of 4 million solar masses called Sagittarius A*. This object has been observed for more than 20 years in the near infrared. This has confirmed some effects of General Relativity.…
We report measurements with the Very Long Baseline Array of the proper motion of Sgr A* relative to two extragalactic radio sources spanning 18 years. The apparent motion of Sgr A* is -6.411 +/- 0.008 mas/yr along the Galactic plane and…