28 April 2021, ore 11:00
Title: Prospect for X-ray polarimetric archaeology of the reflection nebulae in the Galactic center
Speaker: Laura Di Gesu da ASI, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Abstract: The X-ray luminous reflection nebulae in the surrounding of Sgr A* could be the remnant of an AGN torus. In this scenario, their reflection spectrum is explained as the echo of a few hundred years old outburst of Sgr A* and their X-ray variability is a fossil memory of how our Galactic Nucleus acted in the past. We review the state of the art of observational studies of the X-ray reflection nebulae in the GC region. We discuss how spatially resolved X-ray polarimetry, which will soon be provided by the NASA/ASI Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), can contribute to the challenging task of reconstructing the luminosity history of Sgr A*.