New observations of Sgr A have been carried out with the Jansky VLA in the B and C arrays using the broadband (2 GHz) continuum mode at 5.5 GHz. The field of view covers the central 13′ (30 pc) region of the radio-bright zone at the Galactic center. Using the multi-scale and multi-frequency-synthesis (MS-MFS) algorithms in CASA, we have imaged Sgr A with a resolution of 1″, achieving an rms noise of 8 μJy beam-1, and a dynamic range of 100,000:1. Both previously known and newly identified radio features in this region are revealed, including numerous filamentary sources. The radio continuum image is compared with Chandra X-ray images, with a CN emission-line image obtained with the Submillimeter Array and with detailed Paschen-α images obtained with Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS. We discuss several prominent features in the radio image. The "Sgr A west Wings" extend 2′ (5 pc) from the NW and SE tips of the Sgr A west H ii region (the "Mini-spiral") to positions located 2.9 and 2.4 arcmin to the northwest and southeast of Sgr A∗, respectively. The NW wing, along with several other prominent features, including the previously identified "NW Streamers," form an elongated radio lobe (NW lobe), oriented nearly perpendicular to the Galactic plane. This radio lobe, with a size of 6.′3 ×3.′2 (14.4 pc × 7.3 pc), has a known X-ray counterpart. In the outer region of the NW lobe, a row of three thermally emitting rings is observed. A field containing numerous amorphous radio blobs extends for a distance of ∼2 arcmin beyond the tip of the SE wing; these newly recognized features coincide with the SE X-ray lobe. Most of the amorphous radio blobs in the NW and SE lobes have Paschen-α counterparts. We propose that they have been produced by shock interaction of ambient gas concentrations with a collimated nuclear wind or an outflow that originated from within the circumnuclear disk (CND). We also discuss the possibility that the ionized wind or outflow has been launched by radiation force produced by the central star cluster. Finally, we remark on the detailed structure of a prominent radio emission feature located within the shell of the Sgr A east supernova remnant. Because this feature - the "Sigma Front" - correlates well in shape and orientation with the nearby edge of the CND, we propose that it is a reflected shock wave resulting from the impact of the Sgr A east blast wave on the CND.

Using the Very Large Array, we have investigated a non-thermal radio filament (NTF) recently found very near the Galactic black hole and its radio counterpart, SgrA*. While this NTF -- the Sgr A West Filament (SgrAWF) -- shares many characteristics with the population of NTFs occupying the central few hundred parsecs of the Galaxy, the SgrAWF has the distinction of having an orientation and sky location that suggest an intimate physical connection to SgrA*. We present 3.3 and 5.5 cm images constructed using an innovative methodology that yields a very high dynamic range, providing an unprecedentedly clear picture of the SgrAWF. While the physical association of the SgrAWF with SgrA* is not unambiguous, the images decidedly evoke this interesting possibility. Assuming that the SgrAWF bears a physical relationship to SgrA*, we examine the potential implications. One is that SgrA* is a source of relativistic particles constrained to diffuse along ordered local field lines. The relativistic particles could also be fed into the local field by a collimated outflow from SgrA*, perhaps driven by the Poynting flux accompanying the black hole spin in the presence of a magnetic field threading the event horizon. Second, we consider the possibility that the SgrAWF is the manifestation of a low-mass-density cosmic string that has become anchored to the black hole. The simplest form of these hypotheses would predict that the filament be bi-directional, whereas the SgrAWF is only seen on one side of SgrA*, perhaps because of the dynamics of the local medium.

Aims. Our aim is to characterize the polarized continuum emission properties including intensity, polarization position angle, and polarization percentage of Sgr A∗ at ~492 GHz. This frequency, well into the submillimeter bump where the emission is supposed to become optically thin, allows us to see down to the event horizon. Hence the reported observations contain potentially vital information on black hole properties. We have compared our measurements with previous, lower frequency observations, which provides information in the time domain. Methods. We report continuum emission properties of Sgr A∗ at ~492 GHz, based on Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations. We measured flux densities of Sgr A∗ from the central fields of our ALMA mosaic observations. We used calibration observations of the likely unpolarized continuum emission of Titan and the observations of Ci line emission, to gauge the degree of spurious polarization. Results. The flux density of 3.6 ± 0.72 Jy which we measured during our run is consistent with extrapolations from previous, lower frequency observations. We found that the continuum emission of Sgr A∗ at ~492 GHz shows large amplitude differences between the XX and the YY correlations. The observed intensity ratio between the XX and YY correlations as a function of parallactic angle can be explained by a constant polarization position angle of ~158°± 3°. The fitted polarization percentage of Sgr A∗ during our observational period is 14% ± 1.2%. The calibrator quasar J1744-3116 we observed on the same night can be fitted to Stokes I = 252 mJy, with 7.9% ± 0.9% polarization at position angle PA = 14°± 4.2°. Conclusions. The observed polarization percentage and polarization position angle in the present work appear consistent with those expected from longer wavelength observations in the period of 1999-2005. In particular, the polarization position angle at 492 GHz expected from the previously fitted 167°± 7° intrinsic polarization position angle and (-5.6 ± 0.7) × 105 rotation measure is 155+9°-8, which is consistent with our new measurement of polarization position angle within 1σ. The polarization percentage and the polarization position angle may be varying over the period of our ALMA 12 m Array observations, which demands further investigation with future polarization observations.