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Astrophysics, Gravitation and Cosmology Seminar - Michi Bauboeck (UIUC) "Galactic Center Science with GRAVITY at the VLT"

Speaker: Michi Bauboeck (UIUC)
Date: 10/20/2021
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Via Zoom
Event Contact: Brandy Koebbe
bkoebbe@illinois.edu
Sponsor: Department of Physics
Event Type: Seminar/Symposium
 

The GRAVITY instrument at the VLT offers an unprecedented view of the region around the supermassive black hole SgrA* at the center of the Milky Way. These observations have enabled precise measurements of stellar orbits around the black hole, including detection of the gravitational redshift and the relativistic precession of the periastron of the star S2. This high level of astrometric precision strengthens the case for a black hole at the galactic center and allows for tests of General Relativity in the strong-field regime. Moreover, the stability of the measured stellar orbits on a timescale of more than two decades constrains the presence of an intermediate mass black hole. I will discuss the recent results from the GRAVITY observations of the galactic center and their implications for the environment of SgrA*.