Monitoring the Tidal Disruption of the Gas Cloud G2 As It Encounters Sgr A*

A dense, cold cloud (G2) is on a collision course with Sgr A*, the radio source at our Galactic Center. G2 is on an eccentric orbit and shows signs of tidal disruption by the black hole. High-energy emission from the Sgr A*/G2 encounter will likely peak at pericenter and continue over the next several years as the material circularizes. We propose 9 ACIS-S monitoring observations (5 simultaneous with VLA) to study the radiation properties of Sgr A* as G2 breaks up and feeds the accretion flow, to constrain the rates and emission mechanisms of faint X-ray flares, and to detect G2 itself as it is shocked and heated. Multiwavelength observations of this encounter will have a profound impact on our understanding of inefficient accretion flows into, and outflow from, massive black holes.