Abstract
We calculate radio light curves produced by the bow shock that is likely to form in front of the G2 cloud when it penetrates the accretion disc of Sgr A*. The shock acceleration of the radioemitting electrons is captured self-consistently by means of first-principles particle-in-cell simulations. We show that the radio luminosity is expected to reach maximum in early 2013, roughly a month after the bow shock crosses the orbit pericentre. We estimate the peak radio flux at 1.4 GHz to be 1.4-22 Jy depending on the assumed orbit orientation and parameters. We show that the most promising frequencies for radio observations are in the 0.1 < ν < 1 GHz range, for which the bow shock emission will be much stronger than the intrinsic radio flux for all the models considered.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 478-491 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 432 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2013 |
Keywords
- Acceleration of particles
- Accretion, accretion discs
- Black hole physics
- Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science