E. E. Becklin
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View article: New Evidence for a Flux-independent Spectral Index of Sgr A* in the Near-infrared
New Evidence for a Flux-independent Spectral Index of Sgr A* in the Near-infrared Open
In this work, we measure the spectral index of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) between the H (1.6 μ m) and (2.2 μ m) broadband filters in the near-infrared (NIR), sampling over a factor ∼40 in brightness, the largest range probed to date by a f…
View article: Near-infrared Flux Distribution of Sgr A* from 2005–2022: Evidence for an Enhanced Accretion Episode in 2019
Near-infrared Flux Distribution of Sgr A* from 2005–2022: Evidence for an Enhanced Accretion Episode in 2019 Open
Sgr A* is the variable electromagnetic source associated with accretion onto the Galactic center supermassive black hole. While the near-infrared (NIR) variability of Sgr A* was shown to be consistent over two decades, unprecedented activi…
View article: Near-Infrared Flux Distribution of Sgr A* from 2005-2022: Evidence for an Enhanced Accretion Episode in 2019
Near-Infrared Flux Distribution of Sgr A* from 2005-2022: Evidence for an Enhanced Accretion Episode in 2019 Open
Sgr A* is the variable electromagnetic source associated with accretion onto the Galactic center supermassive black hole. While the near-infrared (NIR) variability of Sgr A* was shown to be consistent over two decades, unprecedented activi…
View article: Stellar Populations in the Central 0.5 pc of Our Galaxy. III. The Dynamical Substructures
Stellar Populations in the Central 0.5 pc of Our Galaxy. III. The Dynamical Substructures Open
We measure the 3D kinematic structures of the young stars within the central 0.5 pc of our Galactic Center using the 10 m telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory over a time span of 25 yr. Using high-precision measurements of positions on…
View article: Evidence of a Decreased Binary Fraction for Massive Stars Within 20 Milliparsecs of the Supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center
Evidence of a Decreased Binary Fraction for Massive Stars Within 20 Milliparsecs of the Supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center Open
We present the results of the first systematic search for spectroscopic binaries within the central 2 x 3 arcsec$^2$ around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This survey is based primarily on over a decade …
View article: The Swansong of the Galactic Center Source X7: An Extreme Example of Tidal Evolution near the Supermassive Black Hole
The Swansong of the Galactic Center Source X7: An Extreme Example of Tidal Evolution near the Supermassive Black Hole Open
We present two decades of new high-angular-resolution near-infrared data from the W. M. Keck Observatory that reveal extreme evolution in X7, an elongated dust and gas feature, presently located half an arcsecond from the Galactic Center s…
View article: The Swansong of the Galactic Center Source X7: An Extreme Example of Tidal Evolution near the Supermassive Black Hole
The Swansong of the Galactic Center Source X7: An Extreme Example of Tidal Evolution near the Supermassive Black Hole Open
We present two decades of new high-angular-resolution near-infrared data from the W. M. Keck Observatory that reveal extreme evolution in X7, an elongated dust and gas feature, presently located half an arcsecond from the Galactic Center s…
View article: Analyzing long-term performance of the Keck-II adaptive optics system
Analyzing long-term performance of the Keck-II adaptive optics system Open
We present an analysis of the long-term performance of the W. M. Keck observatory laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS-AO) system and explore factors that influence the overall AO performance most strongly. Astronomical surveys can take y…
View article: Rapid Variability of Sgr A* across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Rapid Variability of Sgr A* across the Electromagnetic Spectrum Open
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is the variable radio, near-infrared (NIR), and X-ray source associated with accretion onto the Galactic center black hole. We have analyzed a comprehensive submillimeter (including new observations simultaneous wit…
View article: Analyzing long-term performance of the Keck-II adaptive optics system
Analyzing long-term performance of the Keck-II adaptive optics system Open
We present an analysis of the long-term performance of the W. M. Keck Observatory Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS-AO) system and explore factors that influence the overall AO performance most strongly. Astronomical surveys can take y…
View article: Probing Interstellar Grain Growth through Polarimetry in the Taurus Cloud Complex
Probing Interstellar Grain Growth through Polarimetry in the Taurus Cloud Complex Open
The optical and near-infrared (OIR) polarization of starlight is typically understood to arise from the dichroic extinction of that light by dust grains whose axes are aligned with respect to a local magnetic field. The size distribution o…
View article: Envisioning the next decade of Galactic Center science: a laboratory for the study of the physics and astrophysics of supermassive black holes
Envisioning the next decade of Galactic Center science: a laboratory for the study of the physics and astrophysics of supermassive black holes Open
As the closest example of a galactic nucleus, the Galactic center (GC) presents an exquisite laboratory for learning about supermassive black holes (SMBH) and their environment. We describe several exciting new research directions that, ov…
View article: The Galactic Center: An Improved Astrometric Reference Frame for Stellar Orbits around the Supermassive Black Hole
The Galactic Center: An Improved Astrometric Reference Frame for Stellar Orbits around the Supermassive Black Hole Open
Precision measurements of the stars in short-period orbits around the\nsupermassive black hole at the Galactic Center are now being used to constrain\ngeneral relativistic effects, such as the gravitational redshift and periapse\nprecessio…
View article: An Overview of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Since Full Operation Capability
An Overview of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Since Full Operation Capability Open
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center DLR, provides access to observations of the infrared and sub-millimeter universe. As its development timeline is uni…
View article: Simultaneous multicolour optical and near-IR transit photometry of GJ 1214b with SOFIA
Simultaneous multicolour optical and near-IR transit photometry of GJ 1214b with SOFIA Open
\n Context. The benchmark exoplanet GJ 1214b is one of the best studied transiting planets in the transition zone between rocky Earth-sized planets and gas or ice giants. This class of super-Earth or mini-Neptune planets is unknown in our …
View article: Testing General Relativity with Stellar Orbits around the Supermassive Black Hole in Our Galactic Center
Testing General Relativity with Stellar Orbits around the Supermassive Black Hole in Our Galactic Center Open
We demonstrate that short-period stars orbiting around the supermassive black hole in our Galactic center can successfully be used to probe the gravitational theory in a strong regime. We use 19 years of observations of the two best measur…
View article: The AIROPA software package: milestones for testing general relativity in the strong gravity regime with AO
The AIROPA software package: milestones for testing general relativity in the strong gravity regime with AO Open
General relativity can be tested in the strong gravity regime by monitoring stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center with adaptive optics. However, the limiting source of uncertainty is the spatial PSF variability …