scholarly journals Event horizon scale emission models for Sagittarius A*

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S303) ◽  
pp. 298-302
Author(s):  
J. Dexter
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Black Hole Accretion ◽  
Emission Models ◽  
Infrared Interferometry ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractVery long baseline interferometry observations at millimeter wavelengths have detected source structure in Sgr A* on event horizon scales. Near-infrared interferometry will achieve similar resolution in the next few years. These experiments provide an unprecedented opportunity to explore strong gravity around black holes, but interpreting the data requires physical modeling. I discuss the calculation of images, spectra, and light curves from relativistic MHD simulations of black hole accretion. The models provide an excellent description of current observations, and predict that we may be on the verge of detecting a black hole shadow, which would constitute the first direct evidence for the existence of black holes.

scholarly journals Simulations of imaging the event horizon of Sagittarius A* from space

2019 ◽  
Vol 625 ◽  
pp. A124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freek Roelofs ◽  
Heino Falcke ◽  
Christiaan Brinkerink ◽  
Monika Mościbrodzka ◽  
Leonid I. Gurvits ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Relativity ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Satellite Orbits ◽  
Tests Of General Relativity ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
Long Baselines

Context. It has been proposed that Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at submillimeter waves will allow us to image the shadow of the black hole in the center of our Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), and thereby test basic predictions of the theory of general relativity. Aims. This paper presents imaging simulations of a new Space VLBI (SVLBI) mission concept. An initial design study of the concept has been presented in the form of the Event Horizon Imager (EHI). The EHI may be suitable for imaging Sgr A* at high frequencies (up to ∼690 GHz), which has significant advantages over performing ground-based VLBI at 230 GHz. The concept EHI design consists of two or three satellites in polar or equatorial circular medium-Earth orbits (MEOs) with slightly different radii. Due to the relative drift of the satellites along the individual orbits over the course of several weeks, this setup will result in a dense spiral-shaped uv-coverage with long baselines (up to ∼60 Gλ), allowing for extremely high-resolution and high-fidelity imaging of radio sources. Methods. We simulated observations of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) models of Sgr A* for the proposed configuration and calculate the expected noise based on preliminary system parameters. On long baselines, where the signal-to-noise ratio may be low, fringes could be detected assuming that the system is sufficiently phase stable and the satellite orbits can be reconstructed with sufficient accuracy. Averaging visibilities accumulated over multiple epochs of observations could then help improving the image quality. With three satellites instead of two, closure phases could be used for imaging. Results. Our simulations show that the EHI could be capable of imaging the black hole shadow of Sgr A* with a resolution of 4 μas (about 8% of the shadow diameter) within several months of observing time. Conclusion. Our preliminary study of the EHI concept shows that it is potentially of high scientific value. It could be used to measure black hole shadows much more precisely than with ground-based VLBI, allowing for stronger tests of general relativity and accretion models.

scholarly journals Quantum gravity effects around Sagittarius A*

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 1644021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hal M. Haggard ◽  
Carlo Rovelli
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Quantum Gravity ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Vlbi Observations ◽  
Gravity Effects ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
Schwarzschild Radius ◽  
Number Of Authors

Recent VLBI observations have resolved Sagittarius A* at horizon scales. The event horizon telescope is expected to provide increasingly good images of the region around the Schwarzschild radius [Formula: see text] of Sgr A* soon. A number of authors have recently pointed out the possibility that nonperturbative quantum gravitational phenomena could affect the space surrounding a black hole. Here, we point out that the existence of a region around [Formula: see text], where these effects should be maximal.

scholarly journals Observing a black hole event horizon: (sub)millimeter VLBI of Sgr A*

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S261) ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent L. Fish ◽  
Sheperd S. Doeleman
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Strong Field ◽  
Variable Component ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Black Hole Candidate ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractVery strong evidence suggests that Sagittarius A*, a compact radio source at the center of the Milky Way, marks the position of a super massive black hole. The proximity of Sgr A* in combination with its mass makes its apparent event horizon the largest of any black hole candidate in the universe and presents us with a unique opportunity to observe strong-field GR effects. Recent millimeter very long baseline interferometric observations of Sgr A* have demonstrated the existence of structures on scales comparable to the Schwarzschild radius. These observations already provide strong evidence in support of the existence of an event horizon. (Sub)Millimeter VLBI observations in the near future will combine the angular resolution necessary to identify the overall morphology of quiescent emission, such as an accretion disk or outflow, with a fine enough time resolution to detect possible periodicity in the variable component of emission. In the next few years, it may be possible to identify the spin of the black hole in Sgr A*, either by detecting the periodic signature of hot spots at the innermost stable circular orbit or parameter estimation in models of the quiescent emission. Longer term, a (sub)millimeter VLBI “Event Horizon Telescope” will be able to produce images of the Galactic center emission to the see the silhouette predicted by general relativistic lensing. These techniques are also applicable to the black hole in M87, where black hole spin may be key to understanding the jet-launching region.

The Biggest Eyes in the Sky: The EHT

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-202
Author(s):  
John W. Moffat
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Accretion Disks ◽  
Bright Light ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
International Event

The international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project aims to observe the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, such as Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way and the more distant M87* in the galaxy M87. Using Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry, the project can observe the shadows of the supermassive black holes that block the bright light emitted by their accretion disks. The EHT ties together radio telescopes ranging across the western hemisphere of Earth to create, in effect, a planet-size telescope. The EHT will determine the size of the shadow, which can be compared to the predictions of general relativity and modified gravity theories. The EHT will also observe the physics of the accretion disks surrounding supermassive black holes. These observations can potentially determine whether a black hole event horizon exists.

scholarly journals Scale-invariance of black hole accretion: modelling emission from a black hole X-ray binary with relativistic accretion flow simulations

2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (4) ◽  
pp. 5353-5358
Author(s):  
M Mościbrodzka
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Scale Invariant ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Accretion Flow ◽  
Black Hole Accretion ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
Hole Accretion

ABSTRACT We model the non-thermal emission spectrum of the extremely sub-Eddington X-ray binary system A0620-00. It is believed that this non-thermal emission is produced by radiatively inefficient ‘quiescent’ accretion on to a stellar-mass black hole present in the system. We post-process general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) simulations with multiwavelength, fully polarized, relativistic radiative transfer calculations to predict broad-band spectra and emission polarization levels for a range of electron models and accretion rates. We find that a model with strong coupling of electrons and ions in the accretion disc and accretion rate of only $\dot{M}=3\times 10^{-13} \, \rm [M_\odot \, yr^{-1}]$ is able to recover the observed X-ray spectral slope, as well as the excess of linear polarization detected in the source in the near-infrared (NIR)/optical bands. Our models constrain the spectral properties of a putative relativistic jet produced in this system. In addition, we show that the magnetized winds from our hot accretion flow carry away a small fraction of the orbital angular momentum of the binary, which is unable to explain the observed rapid orbital decay of the system. GRMHD simulations similar to the present ones are often used to explain emission from sub-Eddington supermassive black holes in Sgr A* or M87; the present simulations allow us to test whether some aspects of quiescent black hole accretion are scale-invariant.

scholarly journals Continuation of the X-ray monitoring of Sgr A*: the increase in bright flaring rate confirmed

2020 ◽  
Vol 636 ◽  
pp. A25
Author(s):  
E. Mossoux ◽  
B. Finociety ◽  
J.-M. Beckers ◽  
F. H. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Detection Efficiency ◽  
Previous Method ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sagittarius A ◽  
Block Algorithm ◽  
Sgr A

Context. The supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is located at the dynamical center of the Milky Way. In a recent study of the X-ray flaring activity from Sgr A* using Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Swift observations from 1999 to 2015, it has been argued that the bright flaring rate has increased from 2014 August 31 while the faint flaring rate decreased from around 2013 August. Aims. We tested the persistence of these changes in the flaring rates with new X-ray observations of Sgr A* performed from 2016 to 2018 (total exposure of 1.4 Ms). Methods. We reprocessed the Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Swift observations from 2016 to 2018. We detected 9 flares in the Chandra data and 5 flares in the Swift data that we added to the set of 107 previously detected flares. We computed the intrinsic distribution of flare fluxes and durations corrected for the sensitivity bias using a new method that allowed us to take the error on the flare fluxes and durations into account. From this intrinsic distribution, we determined the average flare detection efficiency for each Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Swift observation. After correcting each observational exposure for this efficiency, we applied the Bayesian blocks algorithm on the concatenated flare arrival times. As in the above-mentioned study, we also searched for a flux and fluence threshold that might lead to a change in flaring rate. We improved the previous method by computing the average flare detection efficiencies for each flux and fluence range. Results. The Bayesian block algorithm did not detect any significant change in flaring rate of the 121 flares. However, we detected an increase by a factor of about three in the flaring rate of the most luminous and most energetic flares that have occurred since 2014 August 30. Conclusions. The X-ray activity of Sgr A* has increased for more than four years. Additional studies about the overall near-infrared and radio behavior of Sgr A* are required to draw strong results on the multiwavelength activity of the black hole.

scholarly journals A geometric distance measurement to the Galactic center black hole with 0.3% uncertainty

2019 ◽  
Vol 625 ◽  
pp. L10 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
R. Abuter ◽  
A. Amorim ◽  
M. Bauböck ◽  
J. P. Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Geometric Distance ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Beam Combiner ◽  
Infrared Interferometry ◽  
Sgr A

We present a 0.16% precise and 0.27% accurate determination of R0, the distance to the Galactic center. Our measurement uses the star S2 on its 16-year orbit around the massive black hole Sgr A* that we followed astrometrically and spectroscopically for 27 years. Since 2017, we added near-infrared interferometry with the VLTI beam combiner GRAVITY, yielding a direct measurement of the separation vector between S2 and Sgr A* with an accuracy as good as 20 μas in the best cases. S2 passed the pericenter of its highly eccentric orbit in May 2018, and we followed the passage with dense sampling throughout the year. Together with our spectroscopy, in the best cases with an error of 7 km s−1, this yields a geometric distance estimate of R0 = 8178 ± 13stat. ± 22sys. pc. This work updates our previous publication, in which we reported the first detection of the gravitational redshift in the S2 data. The redshift term is now detected with a significance level of 20σ with fredshift = 1.04 ± 0.05.

scholarly journals Modeling the orbital motion of Sgr A*’s near-infrared flares

2020 ◽  
Vol 635 ◽  
pp. A143 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
M. Bauböck ◽  
J. Dexter ◽  
R. Abuter ◽  
A. Amorim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Orbital Motion ◽  
Plane Motion ◽  
Infrared Observations ◽  
Out Of Plane ◽  
Sgr A ◽  
Astrometric Data

Infrared observations of Sgr A* probe the region close to the event horizon of the black hole at the Galactic center. These observations can constrain the properties of low-luminosity accretion as well as that of the black hole itself. The GRAVITY instrument at the ESO VLTI has recently detected continuous circular relativistic motion during infrared flares which has been interpreted as orbital motion near the event horizon. Here we analyze the astrometric data from these flares, taking into account the effects of out-of-plane motion and orbital shear of material near the event horizon of the black hole. We have developed a new code to predict astrometric motion and flux variability from compact emission regions following particle orbits. Our code combines semi-analytic calculations of timelike geodesics that allow for out-of-plane or elliptical motions with ray tracing of photon trajectories to compute time-dependent images and light curves. We apply our code to the three flares observed with GRAVITY in 2018. We show that all flares are consistent with a hotspot orbiting at R ∼ 9 gravitational radii with an inclination of i ∼ 140°. The emitting region must be compact and less than ∼5 gravitational radii in diameter. We place a further limit on the out-of-plane motion during the flare.

scholarly journals Multiple rings in the shadow of extremely compact objects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingkai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Event Horizon ◽  
Electromagnetic Waves ◽  
Black Hole Physics ◽  
Compact Objects ◽  
Simple Manner ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Exciting Opportunity ◽  
Emission Models

The Event Horizon Telescope’s image of the M87 black hole provides an exciting opportunity to study black hole physics. Since a black hole’s event horizon absorbs all electromagnetic waves, it is difficult to actively probe the horizon’s existence. However, with the help of a family of extremely compact, horizon-less objects, named “gravastars”, whose external spacetimes are nearly identical to those of black holes, one can test the absence of event horizons: absences of additional features that arise due to the existence of the gravastar, or its surface, can be used as quantitative evidence for black holes. We apply Gralla et al. approach of studying black hole images to study the images of two types of gravastars: transparent ones and reflective ones. In both cases, the transmission of rays through gravastars, or their reflections on their surfaces, leads to more rings in their images. For simple emission models, where the redshifted emissivity of the disk is peaked at a particular radius [Formula: see text], the position of a series of rings can be related in a simple manner to light ray propagation: a ring shows up around impact parameter [Formula: see text] whenever rays incident from infinity at [Formula: see text] intersects the disk at [Formula: see text]. We show that additional rings will appear in the images of transparent and reflective gravastars. In particular, one of the additional rings for the reflective gravastar is due to the prompt reflection of light on the gravastar surface, and appears to be well separated from the others. This can be an intuitive feature, which may be reliably used to constrain the reflectivity of the black hole’s horizon.

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