Electron Acceleration around the Supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center

The recent detection of variable infrared emission from Sagittarius A*, combined with its previously observed flare activity in X-rays, provides compelling evidence that at least a portion of this object’s emission is produced by nonthermal electrons. We show here that acceleration of electrons by plasma wave turbulence in hot gases near the black hole’s event horizon can account both for Sagittarius A*’s mm and shorter wavelengths emission in the quiescent state, and for the infrared and X-ray flares, induced either via an enhancement of the mass accretion rate onto the black hole or by a reorganization of the magnetic field coupled to the accretion gas. The acceleration model proposed here produces distinct flare spectra that may be compared with future coordinated multi-wavelength observations. We further suggest that the diffusion of high energy electrons away from the acceleration site toward larger radii might be able to account for the observed characteristics of Sagittarius A*’s emission at cm and longer wavelengths. Subject headings: acceleration of particles — black hole physics — Galaxy: center — plasmas — turbulence