0000000001232643
AUTHOR
Thomas P. Krichbaum
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. V. Physical Origin of the Asymmetric Ring
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has mapped the central compact radio source of the elliptical galaxy M87 at 1.3 mm with unprecedented angular resolution. Here we consider the physical implications of the asymmetric ring seen in the 2017 EHT data. To this end, we construct a large library of models based on general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations and synthetic images produced by general relativistic ray tracing. We compare the observed visibilities with this library and confirm that the asymmetric ring is consistent with earlier predictions of strong gravitational lensing of synchrotron emission from a hot plasma orbiting near the black hole event horizon. The ring rad…
THEMIS: A Parameter Estimation Framework for the Event Horizon Telescope
This is an open access article.-- Full list of authors: Broderick, Avery E.; Gold, Roman; Karami, Mansour; Preciado-López, Jorge A.; Tiede, Paul; Pu, Hung-Yi; Akiyama, Kazunori; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Boland, Wilfred; Bouman, Katherine L.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke; Broguiere, Dominique; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Byun, Do-Young; Carlstrom, John E.; Chael, Andrew; Chatterjee, Shami; Chatterjee, Koushik; Chen, Ming-Tang; Chen, Yongjun; Cho, Ilje; Conway, John E.; Cordes, James M.; Crew, Geoffrey B.; Cu…
Discovery of shell-like radio-structure in SN1993J
The radio-luminous supernova SN 1993J in M81 offers an unprecedented opportunity to study with high linear resolution the details of the growth of a supernova radio structure by means of the VLBI technique.
Gravitational Test beyond the First Post-Newtonian Order with the Shadow of the M87 Black Hole
All authors: Psaltis, Dimitrios; Medeiros, Lia; Christian, Pierre; Özel, Feryal; Akiyama, Kazunori; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Ball, David; Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Boland, Wilfred; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke Broguiere, Dominique; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Byun, Do-Young; Carlstrom, John E.; Chael, Andrew; Chan, Chi-kwan; Chatterjee, Shami; Chatterjee, Koushik; Chen, Ming-Tang; Chen, Yongjun; Cho, Ilje; Conway, John E.; Cordes, James M.; Crew, Geoffrey B.; Cui, Yuzhu; Davelaar, Jordy; De Laurentis, Mariafelicia; Deane, Roger; Dempsey, Jessica; Desvign…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. II. Array and Instrumentation
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) array that comprises millimeter- and submillimeter-wavelength telescopes separated by distances comparable to the diameter of the Earth. At a nominal operating wavelength of ~1.3 mm, EHT angular resolution (λ/D) is ~25 μas, which is sufficient to resolve nearby supermassive black hole candidates on spatial and temporal scales that correspond to their event horizons. With this capability, the EHT scientific goals are to probe general relativistic effects in the strong-field regime and to study accretion and relativistic jet formation near the black hole boundary. In this Letter we describe the system design of th…
Structural Variability of 3C 111 on Parsec Scales
We discuss the parsec-scale structural variability of the extragalactic jet 3C111 related to a major radio flux density outburst in 2007. The data analyzed were taken within the scope of the MOJAVE, UMRAO, and F-GAMMA programs, which monitor a large sample of the radio brightest compact extragalactic jets with the VLBA, the University of Michigan 26 m, the Effelsberg 100 m, and the IRAM 30m radio telescopes. The analysis of the VLBA data is performed by fitting Gaussian model components in the visibility domain. We associate the ejection of bright features in the radio jet with a major flux-density outburst in 2007. The evolution of these features suggests the formation of a leading compone…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole
We present the first Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) images of M87, using observations from April 2017 at 1.3 mm wavelength. These images show a prominent ring with a diameter of ~40 μas, consistent with the size and shape of the lensed photon orbit encircling the "shadow" of a supermassive black hole. The ring is persistent across four observing nights and shows enhanced brightness in the south. To assess the reliability of these results, we implemented a two-stage imaging procedure. In the first stage, four teams, each blind to the others' work, produced images of M87 using both an established method (CLEAN) and a newer technique (regularized maximum likelihood). This stage allowed us to av…
Detection of Intrinsic Source Structure at ~3 Schwarzschild Radii with Millimeter-VLBI Observations of SAGITTARIUS A*
We report results from very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, Sgr A*, at 1.3 mm (230 GHz). The observations were performed in 2013 March using six VLBI stations in Hawaii, California, Arizona, and Chile. Compared to earlier observations, the addition of the APEX telescope in Chile almost doubles the longest baseline length in the array, provides additional {\it uv} coverage in the N-S direction, and leads to a spatial resolution of $\sim$30 $\mu$as ($\sim$3 Schwarzschild radii) for Sgr A*. The source is detected even at the longest baselines with visibility amplitudes of $\sim$4-13% of the total flux density. We argue th…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VII. Polarization of the Ring
Full list of authors: Akiyama, Kazunori; Algaba, Juan Carlos; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Anantua, Richard; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Ball, David; Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Benson, Bradford A.; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Raymond; Boland, Wilfred; Bouman, Katherine L.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Boyce, Hope Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke; Broderick, Avery E.; Broguiere, Dominique; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Byun, Do-Young; Carlstrom, John E.; Chael, Andrew; Chan, Chi-kwan; Chatterjee, Shami; Chatterjee, Koushik; Chen, Ming-Tang; Chen, Yongjun; Chesler, Paul M.; Cho, Ilje; Christian, Pierre; Conway, John E.…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. III. Data Processing and Calibration
We present the calibration and reduction of Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 1.3 mm radio wavelength observations of the supermassive black hole candidate at the center of the radio galaxy M87 and the quasar 3C 279, taken during the 2017 April 5–11 observing campaign. These global very long baseline interferometric observations include for the first time the highly sensitive Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA); reaching an angular resolution of 25 μas, with characteristic sensitivity limits of ~1 mJy on baselines to ALMA and ~10 mJy on other baselines. The observations present challenges for existing data processing tools, arising from the rapid atmospheric phase fluctuations, …
F-GAMMA: On the phenomenological classification of continuum radio spectra variability patterns of Fermi blazars
The F-GAMMA program is a coordinated effort to investigate the physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) via multi-frequency monitoring of Fermi blazars. In the current study we show and discuss the evolution of broad-band radio spectra, which are measured at ten frequencies between 2.64 and 142 GHz using the Effelsberg 100-m and the IRAM 30-m telescopes. It is shown that any of the 78 sources studied can be classified in terms of their variability characteristics in merely 5 types of variability. It is argued that these can be attributed to only two classes of variability mechanisms. The first four types are dominated by spectral evolution and can be described by a simple two-component syst…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VIII. Magnetic Field Structure near The Event Horizon
Full list of authors: Akiyama, Kazunori; Algaba, Juan Carlos; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Anantua, Richard; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Ball, David; Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Benson, Bradford A.; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Raymond; Boland, Wilfred; Bouman, Katherine L.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Boyce, Hope Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke; Broderick, Avery E.; Broguiere, Dominique; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Byun, Do-Young; Carlstrom, John E.; Chael, Andrew; Chan, Chi-kwan; Chatterjee, Shami; Chatterjee, Koushik; Chen, Ming-Tang; Chen, Yongjun; Chesler, Paul M.; Cho, Ilje; Christian, Pierre; Conway, John E.…
A Highly Magnetized Twin-Jet Base Pinpoints a Supermassive Black Hole
Supermassive black holes (SMBH) are essential for the production of jets in radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN). Theoretical models based on Blandford & Znajek extract the rotational energy from a Kerr black hole, which could be the case for NGC1052, to launch these jets. This requires magnetic fields of the order of $10^3\,$G to $10^4\,$G. We imaged the vicinity of the SMBH of the AGN NGC1052 with the Global Millimetre VLBI Array and found a bright and compact central feature, smaller than 1.9 light days (100 Schwarzschild radii) in radius. Interpreting this as a blend of the unresolved jet bases, we derive the magnetic field at 1 Schwarzschild radius to lie between 200 G and ~8000…
Sub-milliarcsecond imaging of a bright flare and ejection event in the extragalactic jet 3C 111
Context. Flares in radio-loud active galactic nuclei are thought to be associated with the injection of fresh plasma into the compact jet base. Such flares are usually strongest and appear earlier at shorter radio wavelengths. Hence, very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) at millimeter(mm)-wavelengths is the best-suited technique for studying the earliest structural changes of compact jets associated with emission flares. Aims. We study the morphological changes of the parsec-scale jet in the nearby (z = 0.049) γ-ray bright radio galaxy 3C 111 following a flare that developed into a major radio outburst in 2007. Methods. We analyse three successive observations of 3C 111 at 86 GHz with th…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. the Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole
When surrounded by a transparent emission region, black holes are expected to reveal a dark shadow caused by gravitational light bending and photon capture at the event horizon. To image and study this phenomenon, we have assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a global very long baseline interferometry array observing at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. This allows us to reconstruct event-horizon-scale images of the supermassive black hole candidate in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy M87. We have resolved the central compact radio source as an asymmetric bright emission ring with a diameter of 42 ± 3 μas, which is circular and encompasses a central depression in brightness with a flux rati…
Multiband variability studies and novel broadband SED modeling of Mrk 501 in 2009
Astronomy and astrophysics 603, A31 (2017). doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629540
The stratified two-sided jet of Cygnus A. Acceleration and collimation
High-resolution Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry observations of relativistic jets are essential to constrain fundamental parameters of jet formation models. At a distance of 249 Mpc, Cygnus A is a unique target for such studies, being the only Fanaroff-Riley Class II radio galaxy for which a detailed sub-parsec scale imaging of the base of both jet and counter-jet can be obtained. Observing at millimeter wavelengths unveils those regions which appear self-absorbed at longer wavelengths and enables an extremely sharp view towards the nucleus to be obtained. We performed 7 mm Global VLBI observations, achieving ultra-high resolution imaging on scales down to 90 $\mu$as. This resolution corr…
Monitoring the Morphology of M87* in 2009-2017 with the Event Horizon Telescope
All authors: Wielgus, Maciek; Akiyama, Kazunori; Blackburn, Lindy; Chan, Chi-kwan; Dexter, Jason; Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Fish, Vincent L.; Issaoun, Sara; Johnson, Michael D.; Krichbaum, Thomas P.; Lu, Ru-Sen; Pesce, Dominic W.; Wong, George N.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Broderick, Avery E.; Chael, Andrew; Chatterjee, Koushik; Gammie, Charles F.; Georgiev, Boris; Hada, Kazuhiro Loinard, Laurent; Markoff, Sera; Marrone, Daniel P.; Plambeck, Richard; Weintroub, Jonathan; Dexter, Matthew; MacMahon, David H. E.; Wright, Melvyn; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Ball, David; Baloković, Mislav; Barausse, Enrico; Barrett, John; Bintley, Dan; Boland, Wilf…
Radio observations of active galactic nuclei with mm-VLBI
Over the past few decades, our knowledge of jets produced by active galactic nuclei (AGN) has greatly progressed thanks to the development of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI). Nevertheless, the crucial mechanisms involved in the formation of the plasma flow, as well as those driving its exceptional radiative output up to TeV energies, remain to be clarified. Most likely, these physical processes take place at short separations from the supermassive black hole, on scales which are inaccessible to VLBI observations at centimeter wavelengths. Due to their high synchrotron opacity, the dense and highly magnetized regions in the vicinity of the central engine can only be penetrated when …
Event Horizon Telescope observations of the jet launching and collimation in Centaurus A
Full list of authors: Janssen, Michael; Falcke, Heino; Kadler, Matthias; Ros, Eduardo; Wielgus, Maciek; Akiyama, Kazunori; Baloković, Mislav; Blackburn, Lindy; Bouman, Katherine L.; Chael, Andrew; Chan, Chi-kwan; Chatterjee, Koushik; Davelaar, Jordy; Edwards, Philip G.; Fromm, Christian M.; Gómez, José L.; Goddi, Ciriaco; Issaoun, Sara; Johnson, Michael D.; Kim, Junhan; Koay, Jun Yi; Krichbaum, Thomas P.; Liu, Jun; Liuzzo, Elisabetta; Markoff, Sera; Markowitz, Alex; Marrone, Daniel P.; Mizuno, Yosuke; Müller, Cornelia; Ni, Chunchong; Pesce, Dominic W.; Ramakrishnan, Venkatessh; Roelofs, Freek; Rygl, Kazi L. J.; van Bemmel, Ilse; Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.--This Open Access artic…
High precision astrometry with closure constraints: The triplet 1803+784/1928+738/2007+777
Abstract Improvements in the technique of high precision differential astrometry in VLBI based on the use of triangles of radio sources are reported. Such geometry provides new constraints by taking advantage of “closure”. Results on the relative separations (ranging from 4.6 to 6.8°) of the sources in the triangle 1803+784/1928+738/2007+777 from ionosphere-free delays are shown and “sky closure” verified. A comparison with previous results on the pair 1928+738/2007+777 is also presented.
Constraints on black-hole charges with the 2017 EHT observations of M87*
Full list of authors: Kocherlakota, Prashant; Rezzolla, Luciano; Falcke, Heino; Fromm, Christian M.; Kramer, Michael; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nathanail, Antonios; Olivares, Héctor; Younsi, Ziri; Akiyama, Kazunori; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Algaba, Juan Carlos; Anantua, Richard; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Ball, David; Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Benson, Bradford A.; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Raymond; Boland, Wilfred; Bouman, Katherine L.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Boyce, Hope; Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke; Broderick, Avery E.; Broguiere, Dominique; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Byun, Do-Young; Carlstrom, John E.; …
Multiband RadioAstron space VLBI imaging of the jet in quasar S5 0836+710
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.-- Open Access funding provided by Max Planck Society.
High Precision Astrometry Over Large Angular Scales with Closure Constraints: The Triplet 1803+784/1928+738/2007+777
The technique of differential astrometry using the phase-delay VLBI observable promises fractional precisions of ~2 × 10−9 in the determination of the separation of sources 5° or 6° apart on the sky (Guirado et al. 1995a; Lara et al. 1996). In our present research we seek further improvement in this technique through using triplets of radio sources, which provide a closure constraint in the determination of relative angular positions. This constraint not only eases the resolution of the phase-cycle ambiguities (a major problem in the least-squares approach to astrometry with phase delays), but it also strongly constrains the space of allowable parameter values.
Expansion of SN 1993J
A sequence of images from very long baseline interferometry shows that the young radio supernova SN 1993J is expanding with circular symmetry. However, the circularly symmetric images show emission asymmetries. A scenario in which freely expanding supernova ejecta shock mostly isotropic circumstellar material is strongly favored. The sequence of images constitutes the first “movie” of a radio supernova.
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VI. The Shadow and Mass of the Central Black Hole
We present measurements of the properties of the central radio source in M87 using Event Horizon Telescope data obtained during the 2017 campaign. We develop and fit geometric crescent models (asymmetric rings with interior brightness depressions) using two independent sampling algorithms that consider distinct representations of the visibility data. We show that the crescent family of models is statistically preferred over other comparably complex geometric models that we explore. We calibrate the geometric model parameters using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) models of the emission region and estimate physical properties of the source. We further fit images generated fro…
Wisps in the Galactic center: Near-infrared triggered observations of the radio source Sgr A* at 43 GHz
Context. The compact radio and near-infrared (NIR) source Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) associated with the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center was observed at 7 mm in the context of a NIR triggered global Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) campaign. Aims. Sgr A* shows variable flux densities ranging from radio through X-rays. These variations sometimes appear in spontaneous outbursts that are referred to as flares. Multi-frequency observations of Sgr A* provide access to easily observable parameters that can test the currently accepted models that try to explain these intensity outbursts. Methods. On May 16-18, 2012 Sgr A* has been observed with the VLBA at 7 mm (43 GHz) for 6 hours each…
Verification of Radiative Transfer Schemes for the EHT
Authors: Gold, Roman; Broderick, Avery E.; Younsi, Ziri; Fromm, Christian M.; Gammie, Charles F.; Mościbrodzka, Monika; Pu, Hung-Yi; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Davelaar, Jordy; Dexter, Jason; Ball, David; Chan, Chi-kwan; Kawashima, Tomohisa; Mizuno, Yosuke; Ripperda, Bart; Akiyama, Kazunori; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Boland, Wilfred; Bouman, Katherine L.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke; Broguiere, Dominique; Byun, Do-Young; Carlstrom, John E.; Chael, Andrew; Chatterjee, Koushik; Chatterjee, Shami; Chen, Ming-T…
Event Horizon Telescope imaging of the archetypal blazar 3C 279 at an extreme 20 microarcsecond resolution
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Open Access funding provided by Max Planck Society.--All authors: Kim, Jae-Young; Krichbaum, Thomas P.; Broderick, Avery E.; Wielgus, Maciek; Blackburn, Lindy; Gómez, José L.; Johnson, Michael D.; Bouman, Katherine L.; Chael, Andrew; Akiyama, Kazunori; Jorstad, Svetlana; Marscher, Alan P.; Issaoun, Sara; Janssen, Michael; Chan, Chi-kwan; Savolainen, Tuomas; Pesce, Dominic W.; Özel, Feryal; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walt…
Broadband Multi-wavelength Properties of M87 during the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope Campaign
Full list of authors: EHT MWL Science Working Group; Algaba, J. C.; Anczarski, J.; Asada, K.; Baloković, M.; Chandra, S.; Cui, Y. -Z.; Falcone, A. D.; Giroletti, M.; Goddi, C.; Hada, K.; Haggard, D.; Jorstad, S.; Kaur, A.; Kawashima, T.; Keating, G.; Kim, J. -Y.; Kino, M.; Komossa, S.; Kravchenko, E. V.; Krichbaum, T. P.; Lee, S. -S.; Lu, R. -S.; Lucchini, M.; Markoff, S.; Neilsen, J.; Nowak, M. A.; Park, J.; Principe, G.; Ramakrishnan, V.; Reynolds, M. T.; Sasada, M.; Savchenko, S. S.; Williamson, K. E.; Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration; Akiyama, Kazunori; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Anantua, Richard; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Ball, David; Barrett, John; Bintley, Dan; …
Jet collimation in NGC 315 and other nearby AGN
Aims. The collimation of relativistic jets in galaxies is a poorly understood process. Detailed radio studies of the jet collimation region have been performed so far in few individual objects, providing important constraints for jet formation models. However, the extent of the collimation zone as well as the nature of the external medium possibly confining the jet are still debated. Methods. In this article we present a multi-frequency and multi-scale analysis of the radio galaxy NGC 315, including the use of mm-VLBI data up to 86 GHz, aimed at revealing the evolution of the jet collimation profile. We then consider results from the literature to compare the jet expansion profile in a samp…
Probing the innermost regions of AGN jets and their magnetic fields with RadioAstron II. Observations of 3C 273 at minimum activity
RadioAstron is a 10 m orbiting radio telescope mounted on the Spektr-R satellite, launched in 2011, performing Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry (SVLBI) observations supported by a global ground array of radio telescopes. With an apogee of about 350 000 km, it is offering for the first time the possibility to perform {\mu}as-resolution imaging in the cm-band. We present observations at 22 GHz of 3C 273, performed in 2014, designed to reach a maximum baseline of approximately nine Earth diameters. Reaching an angular resolution of 0.3 mas, we study a particularly low-activity state of the source, and estimate the nuclear region brightness temperature, comparing with the extreme one det…
The limb-brightened jet of M87 down to 7 Schwarzschild radii scale
M87 is one of the nearest radio galaxies with a prominent jet extending from sub-pc to kpc-scales. Because of its proximity and large mass of the central black hole, it is one of the best radio sources to study jet formation. We aim at studying the physical conditions near the jet base at projected separations from the BH of $\sim7-100$ Schwarzschild radii ($R_{\rm sch}$). Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA) observations at 86 GHz ($\lambda=3.5\,$mm) provide an angular resolution of $\sim50\mu$as, which corresponds to a spatial resolution of only $7~R_{\rm sch}$ and reach the small spatial scale. We use five GMVA data sets of M87 obtained during 2004--2015 and present new high angular resolution VL…
mm-VLBI observations of the active galaxy 3C 111 in outburst
The broad-line radio galaxy 3C 111 exhibited a major flux density outburst in 2007. Here, we present imaging and preliminary kinematic results of the jet, based on three millimetre-VLBI observations (86 GHz) using the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) covering one year just after the radio flare. The GMVA data allow us to study this outburst with unprecedented image fidelity at highest (sub-parsec) resolution. On these scales, the outburst is resolved into a complex series of plasma components forming an intriguing bent structure. Within 1 mas from the jet base, ejections vary in position angle and components move with an apparent velocity of ~3.7c, significantly slower than the maximum v…
The 1.4 mm core of Centaurus A: First VLBI results with the South Pole Telescope
Centaurus A (Cen A) is a bright radio source associated with the nearby galaxy NGC 5128 where high-resolution radio observations can probe the jet at scales of less than a light-day. The South Pole Telescope (SPT) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) performed a single-baseline very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observation of Cen A in January 2015 as part of VLBI receiver deployment for the SPT. We measure the correlated flux density of Cen A at a wavelength of 1.4 mm on a $\sim$7000 km (5 G$\lambda$) baseline. Ascribing this correlated flux density to the core, and with the use of a contemporaneous short-baseline flux density from a Submillimeter Array observation, we infer …
The Polarized Image of a Synchrotron-emitting Ring of Gas Orbiting a Black Hole
Full list of authors: Narayan, Ramesh; Palumbo, Daniel C. M.; Johnson, Michael D.; Gelles, Zachary; Himwich, Elizabeth; Chang, Dominic O.; Ricarte, Angelo; Dexter, Jason; Gammie, Charles F.; Chael, Andrew A.; Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration; Akiyama, Kazunori; Alberdi, Antxon; Alef, Walter; Algaba, Juan Carlos; Anantua, Richard; Asada, Keiichi; Azulay, Rebecca; Baczko, Anne-Kathrin; Ball, David Baloković, Mislav; Barrett, John; Benson, Bradford A.; Bintley, Dan; Blackburn, Lindy; Blundell, Raymond; Boland, Wilfred; Bouman, Katherine L.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Boyce, Hope; Bremer, Michael; Brinkerink, Christiaan D.; Brissenden, Roger; Britzen, Silke; Broderick, Avery E.; Broguiere, Domini…