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A new theoretical study proposes that Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way’s central black hole, could transfer some of its rotational energy to particles that later produce detectable gamma rays and neutrinos. The signal has not been confirmed: the work is a model, not a report of an astronomical detection.
What the study predicts
In a version 1 preprint submitted September 3, 2026, Marina Cermeño and coauthors model the magnetic Penrose process around Sagittarius A*. Their calculations follow neutron production in the accretion flow, neutron motion through the black hole’s Kerr spacetime, and neutron beta decay inside the ergosphere—the region outside the event horizon where spacetime is dragged by the black hole’s rotation.
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In the proposed mechanism, some decay products are protons that escape carrying energy drawn from the black hole’s rotation. The model predicts proton energies up to the petaelectronvolt (PeV) scale; the abstract does not give a precise maximum value. The authors then calculate gamma-ray and neutrino emission associated with those escaping protons interacting in the Central Molecular Zone, the dense region of gas around the Galactic Center.
How could a black hole transfer energy to particles?
The Penrose process is a theoretical way to extract rotational energy from a spinning black hole. It relies on the ergosphere, where rotation affects the surrounding spacetime so strongly that objects cannot remain stationary relative to distant observers. The magnetic Penrose process considered in this paper incorporates magnetic fields and particle production in the environment around Sagittarius A*.
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This is distinct from the energy released by matter as it falls through an accretion flow. The proposed signal would be evidence consistent with rotational-energy extraction only if observations matched the model and competing sources of Galactic Center emission could be ruled out. The authors’ statement that their results establish the process as observable is their conclusion from a theoretical calculation, not independent observational confirmation. Read the preprint abstract.
What would astronomers look for?
Gamma rays
The model predicts distinctive gamma-ray spectral features from interactions of the energetic protons with surrounding gas. The authors suggest these could make a non-negligible contribution to very-high-energy emission detected by H.E.S.S. and HAWC. That is a proposed contribution, not evidence that either observatory has identified the magnetic Penrose process as the source.
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Neutrinos
The calculation also predicts neutrino emission. The abstract says the modeled flux remains below the diffuse Galactic component inferred by IceCube, although it could contribute to high-energy emission from the Galactic Center. A neutrino signal would need to be assessed alongside other Galactic contributions and the gamma-ray spectrum; the study does not report a confirmed neutrino detection from this mechanism.
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The authors compare their predictions with projected instrument sensitivities. They report that the signals fall within projected sensitivity for the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) in all modeled scenarios, while some scenarios are only a factor of a few below nominal sensitivity for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO). They also identify KM3NeT/ARCA and IceCube-Gen2 as complementary tests.
These are sensitivity projections, not detections or a claim that every named facility is already operating at those capabilities. A convincing test would require observations that distinguish the predicted spectral and multimessenger pattern from other sources in the crowded Galactic Center. The preprint describes the projected comparisons.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does this mean Sagittarius A* is losing energy?
Not on the evidence presented. The paper proposes a physical mechanism and calculates emissions it might produce; it does not show that Sagittarius A* has been observed spinning down. Detecting compatible gamma rays or neutrinos would strengthen the case, but attributing them to rotational energy extraction would require separating the model’s contribution from other Galactic Center emission.
The result is therefore a testable theoretical proposal: if its predicted features appear in future observations and survive that source attribution, they could provide evidence that black-hole rotation is powering some high-energy particles near the Milky Way’s center. Until then, the claim remains a prediction of the September 2026 preprint.
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