Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l'Univers

Sgr A* is the weakest accreting black hole we have ever observed, yet it is not a particularly unique object. We know that the majority of galaxies harbor nuclei more like Sgr A* than bright active galactic nuclei (AGN), so our Galactic center represents a dominant stage in the "typical" life cycle of a spiral galaxy. I will discuss our current understanding of accretion around Sgr A* (where semi-analytical models agree with sophisticated simulations), and how we are using these constraints to place Sgr A* in a wider context, and to build better models for the general population of weakly accreting black holes at all mass scales.