I. Waisberg

An Update on Monitoring Stellar Orbits in the Galactic Center

Using 25 years of data from uninterrupted monitoring of stellar orbits in the Galactic Center, we present an update of the main results from this unique data set: a measurement of mass and distance to Sgr A*. Our progress is not only due to the eight-year increase in time base, but also to the improved definition of the coordinate system. The star S2 continues to yield the best constraints on the mass of and distance to Sgr A*; the statistical errors of and kpc have halved compared to the previous study. The S2 orbit fit is robust and does not need any prior information. Using coordinate system priors, the star S1 also yields tight constraints on mass and distance. For a combined orbit fit, we use 17 stars, which yields our current best estimates for mass and distance: and . These numbers are in agreement with the recent determination of R 0 from the statistical cluster parallax. The positions of the mass, of the near-infrared flares from Sgr A*, and of the radio source Sgr A* agree to within 1 mas. In total, we have determined orbits for 40 stars so far, a sample which consists of 32 stars with randomly oriented orbits and a thermal eccentricity distribution, plus eight stars that we can explicitly show are members of the clockwise disk of young stars, and which have lower-eccentricity orbits.

A powerful flare from Sgr A* confirms the synchrotron nature of the X-ray emission

We present the first fully simultaneous fits to the near-infrared (NIR) and X-ray spectral slope (and its evolution) during a very bright flare from Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the Milky Ways centre. Our study arises from ambitious multiwavelength monitoring campaigns with XMM–Newton, NuSTAR and SINFONI. The average multiwavelength spectrum is well reproduced by a broken power law with Γ_(NIR) = 1.7 ± 0.1 and Γ_X = 2.27 ± 0.12. The difference in spectral slopes (ΔΓ = 0.57 ± 0.09) strongly supports synchrotron emission with a cooling break. The flare starts first in the NIR with a flat and bright NIR spectrum, while X-ray radiation is detected only after about 10^3 s, when a very steep X-ray spectrum (ΔΓ = 1.8 ± 0.4) is observed. These measurements are consistent with synchrotron emission with a cooling break and they suggest that the high-energy cut-off in the electron distribution (γ_(max)) induces an initial cut-off in the optical–UV band that evolves slowly into the X-ray band. The temporal and spectral evolution observed in all bright X-ray flares are also in line with a slow evolution of γ_(max). We also observe hints for a variation of the cooling break that might be induced by an evolution of the magnetic field (from B ∼ 30 ± 8 G to B ∼ 4.8 ± 1.7 G at the X-ray peak). Such drop of the magnetic field at the flare peak would be expected if the acceleration mechanism is tapping energy from the magnetic field, such as in magnetic reconnection. We conclude that synchrotron emission with a cooling break is a viable process for Sgr A*s flaring emission.

Twelve years of spectroscopic monitoring in the Galactic Center: the closest look at S-stars near the black hole

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 ages. In this study, we analyse the result of 12 years of high resolution spectroscopy within the central arcsecond of the Galactic Center (GC). By co-adding between 55 and 105 hours of spectra we have obtained high signal to noise H- and K-band spectra of eight stars orbiting the central supermassive black hole. Using deep H-band spectra, we show that these stars must be high surface gravity (dwarf) stars. We compare these deep spectra to detailed model atmospheres and stellar evolution models to infer the stellar parameters. Our analysis reveals an effective temperature of 21000-28500 K, a rotational velocity of 60-170 km/s, and a surface gravity of 4.1-4.2. These parameters imply a spectral type of B0-B3V for these stars. The inferred masses lie within 8-14 Msun. We derive an age of 6.6^{+3.4}{-4.7} Myr for the star S2, which is compatible with the age of the clockwise rotating young stellar disk in the GC. We estimate the age of all other studied S-stars to be less than 15 Myr, which are compatible with the age of S2 within the uncertainties. The relatively low ages for these S-stars favor a scenario in which the stars formed in a local disk rather than the field-binary-disruption scenario throughout a longer period of time.

Echelle Spectroscopy of Gamma-ray Binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856

We observed the Fermi-discovered gamma-ray binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856 at 20 epochs over 50 days using the CHIRON spectrograph, obtaining spectra at R~25,000 covering 4090-8908A. The average spectrum confirms an O6 V((f)) spectral type and extinction E(B-V) = 1.35+/-0.04. Variable absorption line equivalent widths suggest substantial contamination by wind line features. The limited S/N ratio hindered accurate continuum definition and prevented measurement of a high quality radial velocity curve. Nevertheless, the best data indicate a radial velocity amplitude <40 km/s for the He II lines and substantially lower for H I. We argue that this indicates a most likely compact object mass <2.2Msun. While black hole solutions are not excluded, a neutron star source of the gamma-ray emission seems preferred.

The metrology system of the VLTI instrument GRAVITY

The VLTI instrument GRAVITY combines the beams from four telescopes and provides phase-referenced imaging as well as precision-astrometry of order 10 μas by observing two celestial objects in dual-field mode. Their angular separation can be determined from their differential OPD (dOPD) when the internal dOPDs in the interferometer are known. Here, we present the general overview of the novel metrology system which performs these measurements. The metrology consists of a three-beam laser system and a homodyne detection scheme for three-beam interference using phase-shifting interferometry in combination with lock-in amplifiers. Via this approach the metrology system measures dOPDs on a nanometer-level.

Detection of the gravitational redshift in the orbit of the star S2 near the Galactic centre massive black hole

This is the author accepted manuscript. the final version is available from EDP Sciences via the DOI in this record

Accretion-ejection morphology of the microquasar SS 433 resolved at sub-au scale

We present the first optical observation of the microquasar SS 433 at sub-milliarcsecond (mas) scale obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope interferometer (VLTI). The 3.5-h exposure reveals a rich K-band spectrum dominated by hydrogen Brγand He i lines, as well as (red-shifted)emission lines coming from the jets. The K-band-continuum-emitting region is dominated by a marginally resolved point source (<1 mas) embedded inside a diffuse background accounting for 10% of the total flux. The jet line positions agree well with the ones expected from the jet kinematic model, an interpretation also supported by the consistent sign (i.e., negative/positive for the receding/approaching jet component) of the phase shifts observed in the lines. The significant visibility drop across the jet lines, together with the small and nearly identical phases for all baselines, point toward a jet that is offset by less than 0.5 mas from the continuum source and resolved in the direction of propagation, with a typical size of 2 mas. The jet position angle of ~80° is consistent with the expected one at the observation date. Jet emission so close to the central binary system would suggest that line locking, if relevant to explain the amplitude and stability of the 0.26c jet velocity, operates on elements heavier than hydrogen. The Brγprofile is broad and double peaked. It is better resolved than the continuum and the change of the phase signal sign across the line on all baselines suggests an East-West-oriented geometry similar to the jet direction and supporting a (polar) disk wind origin. Key words: stars: individual: SS 433 / ISM: jets and outflows / techniques: interferometric / infrared: stars⋆ Based on observations made with VLTI/Gravity instrument.⋆⋆ GRAVITY is developed in a collaboration by the Max Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics, LESIA of Paris Observatory/CNRS/UPMC/Univ. Paris Diderot and IPAG of Universite Grenoble Alpes/CNRS, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, the University of Cologne, the Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofisica Lisbon and Porto, and the European Southern Observatory.

Submilliarcsecond optical interferometry of the high-mass X-ray binary BP Cru with VLTI/GRAVITY

This is the final version. Available from American Astronomical Society via the DOI in this record

Optical Distortion in the NACO Imager

In this research note, we present a set of distortion solutions that may be used to correct geometric optical distortion in images taken with the S13 camera of the NACO adaptive optics imager.

A Detection of Sgr A* in the Far Infrared

We report the first detection of the Galactic Centre massive black hole, Sgr~A*, in the far infrared. Our measurements were obtained with PACS on board the \emph{Herschel} satellite at