  Near-IR and X-ray flares have been detected from the supermassive black hole
Sgr A* at the center of our Galaxy with a (quasi)-period of ~17-20 minutes,
suggesting an emission region only a few Schwarzschild radii above the event
horizon. The latest X-ray flare, detected with XMM-Newton, is notable for its
detailed lightcurve, yielding not only the highest quality period thus far, but
also important structure reflecting the geometry of the emitting region. Recent
MHD simulations of Sgr A*'s disk have demonstrated the growth of a Rossby wave
instability, that enhances the accretion rate for several hours, possibly
accounting for the observed flares. In this Letter, we carry out ray-tracing
calculations in a Schwarzschild metric to determine as accurately as possible
the lightcurve produced by general relativistic effects during such a
disruption. We find that the Rossby wave induced spiral pattern in the disk is
an excellent fit to the data, implying a disk inclination angle of ~77 deg.
Note, however, that if this association is correct, the observed period is not
due to the underlying Keplerian motion but, rather, to the pattern speed. The
favorable comparison between the observed and simulated lightcurves provides
important additional evidence that the flares are produced in Sgr A*'s inner
disk.
