| 11. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
-
First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. II. EHT and Multiwavelength Observations, Data Processing, and Calibration
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 1.3 mm measurements of the radio source located at the position of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), collected during the 2017 April 5-11 campaign. The observations were carried out with eight facilities at six locations across the globe. Novel calibration methods are employed to account for Sgr A*'s flux variability. The majority of the 1.3 mm emission arises from horizon scales, where intrinsic structural source variability is detected on timescales of minutes to hours. The effects of interstellar scattering on the image and its variability are found to be subdominant to intrinsic source structure. The calibrated visibility amplitudes, particularly the locations of the visibility minima, are broadly consistent with a blurred ring with a diameter of similar to 50 mu as, as determined in later works in this series. Contemporaneous multiwavelength monitoring of Sgr A* was performed at 22, 43, and 86 GHz and at near-infrared and X-ray wavelengths. Several X-ray flares from Sgr A* are detected by Chandra, one at low significance jointly with Swift on 2017 April 7 and the other at higher significance jointly with NuSTAR on 2017 April 11. The brighter April 11 flare is not observed simultaneously by the EHT but is followed by a significant increase in millimeter flux variability immediately after the X-ray outburst, indicating a likely connection in the emission physics near the event horizon. We compare Sgr A*'s broadband flux during the EHT campaign to its historical spectral energy distribution and find that both the quiescent emission and flare emission are consistent with its long-term behavior.
|
|
| 12. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
-
First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. III. Imaging of the Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first event-horizon-scale images and spatiotemporal analysis of Sgr A* taken with the Event Horizon Telescope in 2017 April at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. Imaging of Sgr A* has been conducted through surveys over a wide range of imaging assumptions using the classical CLEAN algorithm, regularized maximum likelihood methods, and a Bayesian posterior sampling method. Different prescriptions have been used to account for scattering effects by the interstellar medium toward the Galactic center. Mitigation of the rapid intraday variability that characterizes Sgr A* has been carried out through the addition of a "variability noise budget" in the observed visibilities, facilitating the reconstruction of static full-track images. Our static reconstructions of Sgr A* can be clustered into four representative morphologies that correspond to ring images with three different azimuthal brightness distributions and a small cluster that contains diverse nonring morphologies. Based on our extensive analysis of the effects of sparse (u, v)-coverage, source variability, and interstellar scattering, as well as studies of simulated visibility data, we conclude that the Event Horizon Telescope Sgr A* data show compelling evidence for an image that is dominated by a bright ring of emission with a ring diameter of similar to 50 mu as, consistent with the expected "shadow" of a 4 x 10(6) M (circle dot) black hole in the Galactic center located at a distance of 8 kpc.
|
|
| 13. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
-
First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Variability, Morphology, and Black Hole Mass
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we quantify the temporal variability and image morphology of the horizon-scale emission from Sgr A*, as observed by the EHT in 2017 April at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. We find that the Sgr A* data exhibit variability that exceeds what can be explained by the uncertainties in the data or by the effects of interstellar scattering. The magnitude of this variability can be a substantial fraction of the correlated flux density, reaching similar to 100% on some baselines. Through an exploration of simple geometric source models, we demonstrate that ring-like morphologies provide better fits to the Sgr A* data than do other morphologies with comparable complexity. We develop two strategies for fitting static geometric ring models to the time-variable Sgr A* data; one strategy fits models to short segments of data over which the source is static and averages these independent fits, while the other fits models to the full data set using a parametric model for the structural variability power spectrum around the average source structure. Both geometric modeling and image-domain feature extraction techniques determine the ring diameter to be 51.8 +/- 2.3 mu as (68% credible intervals), with the ring thickness constrained to have an FWHM between similar to 30% and 50% of the ring diameter. To bring the diameter measurements to a common physical scale, we calibrate them using synthetic data generated from GRMHD simulations. This calibration constrains the angular size of the gravitational radius to be 4.8(-0.7)(+1.4) mu as, which we combine with an independent distance measurement from maser parallaxes to determine the mass of Sgr A* to be 4.0(-0.6)(+1.1) x 10(6) M-circle dot.
|
|
| 14. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
-
First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. V. Testing Astrophysical Models of the Galactic Center Black Hole
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we provide a first physical interpretation for the Event Horizon Telescope's (EHT) 2017 observations of Sgr A*. Our main approach is to compare resolved EHT data at 230 GHz and unresolved non-EHT observations from radio to X-ray wavelengths to predictions from a library of models based on time-dependent general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics simulations, including aligned, tilted, and stellar-wind-fed simulations; radiative transfer is performed assuming both thermal and nonthermal electron distribution functions. We test the models against 11 constraints drawn from EHT 230 GHz data and observations at 86 GHz, 2.2 mu m, and in the X-ray. All models fail at least one constraint. Light-curve variability provides a particularly severe constraint, failing nearly all strongly magnetized (magnetically arrested disk (MAD)) models and a large fraction of weakly magnetized models. A number of models fail only the variability constraints. We identify a promising cluster of these models, which are MAD and have inclination i <= 30 degrees. They have accretion rate (5.2-9.5) x 10(-9) M (circle dot) yr(-1), bolometric luminosity (6.8-9.2) x 10(35) erg s(-1), and outflow power (1.3-4.8) x 10(38) erg s(-1). We also find that all models with i >= 70 degrees fail at least two constraints, as do all models with equal ion and electron temperature; exploratory, nonthermal model sets tend to have higher 2.2 mu m flux density; and the population of cold electrons is limited by X-ray constraints due to the risk of bremsstrahlung overproduction. Finally, we discuss physical and numerical limitations of the models, highlighting the possible importance of kinetic effects and duration of the simulations.
|
|
| 15. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
-
First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. VI. Testing the Black Hole Metric
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Astrophysical black holes are expected to be described by the Kerr metric. This is the only stationary, vacuum, axisymmetric metric, without electromagnetic charge, that satisfies Einstein's equations and does not have pathologies outside of the event horizon. We present new constraints on potential deviations from the Kerr prediction based on 2017 EHT observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). We calibrate the relationship between the geometrically defined black hole shadow and the observed size of the ring-like images using a library that includes both Kerr and non-Kerr simulations. We use the exquisite prior constraints on the mass-to-distance ratio for Sgr A* to show that the observed image size is within similar to 10% of the Kerr predictions. We use these bounds to constrain metrics that are parametrically different from Kerr, as well as the charges of several known spacetimes. To consider alternatives to the presence of an event horizon, we explore the possibility that Sgr A* is a compact object with a surface that either absorbs and thermally reemits incident radiation or partially reflects it. Using the observed image size and the broadband spectrum of Sgr A*, we conclude that a thermal surface can be ruled out and a fully reflective one is unlikely. We compare our results to the broader landscape of gravitational tests. Together with the bounds found for stellar-mass black holes and the M87 black hole, our observations provide further support that the external spacetimes of all black holes are described by the Kerr metric, independent of their mass.
|
|
| 16. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
-
The persistent shadow of the supermassive black hole of M 87: I. Observations, calibration, imaging, and analysis*
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 681
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration reported the first-ever event-horizon-scale images of a black hole, resolving the central compact radio source in the giant elliptical galaxy M 87. These images reveal a ring with a southerly brightness distribution and a diameter of ∼42 μas, consistent with the predicted size and shape of a shadow produced by the gravitationally lensed emission around a supermassive black hole. These results were obtained as part of the April 2017 EHT observation campaign, using a global very long baseline interferometric radio array operating at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. Here, we present results based on the second EHT observing campaign, taking place in April 2018 with an improved array, wider frequency coverage, and increased bandwidth. In particular, the additional baselines provided by the Greenland telescope improved the coverage of the array. Multiyear EHT observations provide independent snapshots of the horizon-scale emission, allowing us to confirm the persistence, size, and shape of the black hole shadow, and constrain the intrinsic structural variability of the accretion flow. We have confirmed the presence of an asymmetric ring structure, brighter in the southwest, with a median diameter of 43.3-3.1+1.5 μas. The diameter of the 2018 ring is remarkably consistent with the diameter obtained from the previous 2017 observations. On the other hand, the position angle of the brightness asymmetry in 2018 is shifted by about 30 relative to 2017. The perennial persistence of the ring and its diameter robustly support the interpretation that the ring is formed by lensed emission surrounding a Kerr black hole with a mass ∼6.5× 109M. The significant change in the ring brightness asymmetry implies a spin axis that is more consistent with the position angle of the large-scale jet.
|
|
| 17. |
- Albentosa, Ezequiel, et al.
(författare)
-
Current Status of the EU-VGOS Project
- 2023
-
Ingår i: International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2022 General Meeting Proceedings. ; NASA/ CP–20220018789, s. 85-89
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The EU-VGOS project began in 2018 with the aim of using the VGOS infrastructure in Europe to investigate methods for VGOS data processing. The project is now structured into Working Groups dealing with operations (stations), e-transfer, correlation and post-processing, and analysis. This is a report on the status of the project.
|
|
| 18. |
- Alef, Walter, et al.
(författare)
-
BRAND - The next generation receiver for VLBI
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of Science. - Trieste, Italy : Sissa Medialab. - 1824-8039. ; 344
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the BRAND EVN project is to build a very wide receiver prototype for primary focus with a frequency range from 1.5 GHz to 15.5 GHz In addition we will investigate solutions for secondary focus telescopes. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730562 [RadioNet]. We present the status of the project which was started on January 1st, 2017 and is progressing smoothly: Feed, LNA, filters, major digital components, and some of the firmware are available now. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons.
|
|
| 19. |
- Alef, Walter, et al.
(författare)
-
Geodetic data analysis of VGOS experiments
- 2021
-
Ingår i: 2021 34th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of the International Union of Radio Science, URSI GASS 2021.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) serves as one of the common geodetic methods to define the global reference frames and monitor Earth's orientation variations. The technical upgrade of the VLBI method known as the VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS) includes a critical re-design of the observed frequencies from the dual band mode (S and X band, i.e. 2 GHz and 8 GHz) to observations in a broadband (2-14 GHz). Since 2019 the first VGOS experiments are available for the geodetic analysis in free access at the International VLBI service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). Also regional-only subnetworks such as European VLBI stations have succeeded already in VGOS mode. Based on these brand-new observations we review the current geodetic data analysis workflow to build a bridge between geodetic observed delays derived from different bands.
|
|
| 20. |
- Alef, Walter, et al.
(författare)
-
The EUropean-VGOS Project
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the 24th European VLBI Group for Geodesy and Astrometry Working Meeting. - 9788441656345 ; , s. 107-111
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Spring 2018 the Bonn correlation centre started a collaboration with the three European stations of Wettzell, Onsala and Yebes, equipped with both S/X- and broadband systems, to perform VGOS-like test sessions. The aim is to verify and develop further the processing chain for VGOS experiments end-to-end, from the scheduling to the analysis of the derived observables. We will present the current status of the project.
|
|
