Implication of Spin Constraints by the Event Horizon Telescope on Stellar Orbits in the Galactic Center
Abstract
The center of the Milky Way hosts the closest supermassive black hole, Sgr A*. Decades of near-infrared observations of our Galactic Center have shown the presence of a small population of stars (the so-called S-star cluster) orbiting Sgr A*, which were recently reported to be arranged into two orthogonal disks. In this case, the timescale for the Lense-Thirring precession of S stars should be longer than their age, implying a low spin for Sgr A*. In contrast, the recent results by the Event Horizon Telescope favor a highly spinning Sgr A*, which seems to suggest that the S stars could not be arranged in disks. Alternatively, the spin of Sgr A* must be small, suggesting that the models for its observed image are incomplete.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 2022
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2205.12274
- Bibcode:
- 2022ApJ...932L..17F
- Keywords:
-
- Black holes;
- Kerr black holes;
- Galactic center;
- 162;
- 886;
- 565;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJ Letters