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Using observations from 2017 and 2018, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has advanced our understanding of the supermassive black hole at the centre of Messier 87 (M87*). This study marks a significant step towards multi-year analysis at horizon scales, in order to investigate the Black Hole's turbulent accretion flow. It utilizes a vastly improved set of simulations a factor of three larger than previous ones. The results include major contributions from the MPIfR in Bonn, Germany.
“This study highlights the significance of incorporating larger and more diverse simulation sets in the investigation of the supermassive black hole," explains Christian M. Fromm, member of the EHT theory group and affiliated with the University of Würzburg and the MPIfR. "By integrating multi-epoch data with advanced models, we can better understand the dynamical processes driving the brightness variations observed near M87*. This approach paves the way for future studies focusing on the complex interplay of plasma dynamics and black hole spin.”
Hung-Yi Pu, assistant professor at National Taiwan Normal University, adds, "The black hole accretion environment is turbulent and dynamic. Since we can treat the 2017 and 2018 observations as independent measurements, we can constrain the black hole's surroundings with a new perspective. This work highlights the transformative potential of observing the black hole evolving in time."
The 2018 observations confirmed the luminous ring seen in 2017, with a diameter of about 43 microarcseconds, matching theoretical predictions for the shadow of a 6.5 billion solar-mass black hole. The brightest part of the ring is shifted 30 degrees counter-clockwise, due to turbulence in the accretion disk. This behaviour is consistent with predictions from the 2017 analysis, which expected such a shift.
Using a synthetic data set three times larger than in 2017, the EHT team analysed accretion models from both years. When gas spirals into a black hole, it can align with or oppose the spin of the black hole. The observed changes are better explained by gas flowing against the rotation of the black hole.
"The 2018 observations, in conjunction with 2017 data, reveal a nuanced picture of M87*'s accretion flow," states Eduardo Ros, scientist at MPIfR. "The study underscores the evolving nature of the plasma structures near the event horizon, offering clues about the variability mechanisms that govern black hole environments. This iterative process of modeling and observation is critical for unraveling the mysteries of black hole environment dynamics.”
This new understanding is particularly significant in light of the complementary observations of the black hole's shadow by the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) in 2018, which were presented in April 2023. “These observations at 3 mm wavelength, combined with the EHT's findings at 1.3 mm wavelength, provide a more complete picture of the black hole's environment and its dynamics,” adds Thomas P. Krichbaum, also scientist at the MPIfR and member of the team of researchers.
Ongoing analysis of EHT data from later years (2021 and 2022) aims to provide stronger statistical constraints and deeper insights into the turbulent flow around M87*.
J. Anton Zensus, director at the MPIfR and founding chair of the EHT collaboration, notes, "These results are based on the continuous work of the EHT and are confirmed in the investigations with the GMVA. They show how important global partnerships, state-of-the-art technologies and persistent research are for scientific progress."
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Additional Information
The EHT collaboration involves more than 400 researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The international collaboration is working to obtain the most detailed images of black holes ever obtained by creating a virtual Earth-sized telescope. Supported by substantial international investment, the EHT will combine existing telescopes using novel systems to create a fundamentally new instrument with the highest angular resolution ever achieved.
The individual telescopes involved are ALMA, APEX, the IRAM 30-metre telescope, the IRAM NOEMA observatory, the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), the Submillimeter Array (SMA), the Submillimeter Telescope (SMT), the South Pole Telescope (SPT), the Kitt Peak Telescope, and the Greenland Telescope (GLT). The data were correlated at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) and the MIT Haystack Observatory. Post-processing was carried out by an international team at several institutions.
The EHT consortium consists of 13 participating institutions: Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Arizona, University of Chicago, East Asian Observatory, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique, Large Millimeter Telescope, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, MIT Haystack Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Radboud University, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
The following co-authors are affiliated with the MPIfR: Walter Alef, Rebecca Azulay, Uwe Bach, Anne-Kathrin Baczko, Silke Britzen, Gregory Desvignes, Sergio A. Dzib, Ralph P. Eatough, Christian M. Fromm, Michael Janssen, Ramesh Karuppusamy, Joana A. Kramer, Michael Kramer, Thomas P. Krichbaum, Jun Liu, Kuo Liu, Andrei P. Lobanov, Ru-Sen Lu, Nicholas R. MacDonald, Nicola Marchili, Karl M. Menten (deceased), Cornelia Müller, Hendrik Müller, Georgios Filippos Paraschos, Eduardo Ros, Helge Rottmann, Alan L. Roy, Tuomas Savolainen, Lijing Shao, Pablo Torne, Efthalia Traianou, Jan Wagner, Robert Wharton, Maciek Wielgus, Gunther Witzel, J. Anton Zensus, and Guang-Yao Zhao.
Other German institutions involved are the University of Frankfurt (Alejandro Cruz Osorio, Christian M. Fromm, Prashant Kocherlakota, Yosuke Mizuno, Kotaro Moriyama, Antonios Nathanail, Oliver Porth, Luciano Rezzolla and Ziri Younsi), the University of Würzburg (Christian M. Fromm) and the University of Heidelberg (Roman Gold).
Prof. Dr. Eduardo Ros
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn
Fon: +49 228 525-125
ros@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Dr. Christian Fromm
University of Würzburg & Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn
Fon: +49 931 318-1984
E-mail: christian.fromm@uni-wuerzburg.de
Prof. Dr. J. Anton Zensus
Director and Head of Radio Astronomy/VLBI Research Dept.
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn
Fon: +49 228 525-298 (secretary)
E-mail: azensus@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
The persistent shadow of the supermassive black hole of M87. II. Model comparisons and theoretical interpretations, The EHT Collaboration, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 693, 22 January 2025
https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202451296
Preprint: https://cloud.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/index.php/s/KLdspPSSr42tmd6
https://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/pressreleases/2025/2
Observed and theoretical images of M87*. Left: EHT images from the 2018 and 2017 observation campaig ...
Hung-Vi Pu (The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, 2025, Astronomy & Astrophysics)
EHT array for the 2018 observing campaign of M87 with the following observatories: APEX & ALMA (Chil ...
Cristina Romero-Cañizales
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