Spectrum of Optically Thin Advection‐dominated Accretion Flow around a Black Hole: Application to Sagittarius A*

Abstract

The global structure of optically thin advection-dominated accretion flows composed of two-temperature plasma around black holes is calculated. We adopt the full set of basic equations, including the advective energy transport in the energy equation for the electrons. The spectra emitted by the optically thin accretion flows are also investigated. The radiation mechanisms that are taken into account are bremsstrahlung, synchrotron emission, and Comptonization. The calculation of the spectra and that of the structure of the accretion flows are made to be completely consistent by calculating the radiative cooling rate at each radius. As a result of the advection domination for the ions, the heat transport from the ions to the electrons becomes practically zero, and the radiative cooling balances with the advective heating in the energy equation of the electrons. Following up on the successful work of Narayan et al., we applied our model to the spectrum of Sgr A*. We find that the spectrum of Sgr A* is explained by the optically thin advection-dominated accretion flow around a black hole of mass MBH = 106 M☉. The parameter dependence of the spectrum and the structure of the accretion flows is also discussed.