First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VIII. Magnetic Field Structure near The Event Horizon
Journal article, 2021
Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations at 230 GHz have now imaged polarized emission around the supermassive black hole in M87 on event-horizon scales. This polarized synchrotron radiation probes the structure of magnetic fields and the plasma properties near the black hole. Here we compare the resolved polarization structure observed by the EHT, along with simultaneous unresolved observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, to expectations from theoretical models. The low fractional linear polarization in the resolved image suggests that the polarization is scrambled on scales smaller than the EHT beam, which we attribute to Faraday rotation internal to the emission region. We estimate the average density n(e) similar to 10(4-7) cm(-3), magnetic field strength B similar to 1-30 G, and electron temperature T-e similar to (1-12) x 10(10) K of the radiating plasma in a simple one-zone emission model. We show that the net azimuthal linear polarization pattern may result from organized, poloidal magnetic fields in the emission region. In a quantitative comparison with a large library of simulated polarimetric images from general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations, we identify a subset of physical models that can explain critical features of the polarimetric EHT observations while producing a relativistic jet of sufficient power. The consistent GRMHD models are all of magnetically arrested accretion disks, where near-horizon magnetic fields are dynamically important. We use the models to infer a mass accretion rate onto the black hole in M87 of (3-20) x 10(-4) M yr(-1).
Plasma astrophysics
Polarimetry
Relativistic jets
Black holes
Magnetohydrodynamics
Event horizons
Magnetic fields
Kerr black holes
Radiative transfer
Jets
Radio jets
Accretion
Author
Kazunori Akiyama
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Juan Carlos Algaba
University of Malaya
Antxon Alberdi
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Walter Alef
Max Planck Society
Richard Anantua
Flatiron Institute
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Keiichi Asada
Academia Sinica
Rebecca Azulay
Universitat de Valencia
Max Planck Society
Anne-Kathrin Baczko
Max Planck Society
David Ball
University of Arizona
Mislav Balokovic
Yale University
John Barrett
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Bradford A. Benson
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
University of Chicago
Dan Bintley
East Asian Observatory
Lindy Blackburn
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Raymond Blundell
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Wilfred Boland
Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie (NOVA)
Katherine L. Bouman
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Harvard University
Geoffrey C. Bower
Academia Sinica
Hope Boyce
McGill University
Michael Bremer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Christiaan D. Brinkerink
Radboud University
Roger Brissenden
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Silke Britzen
Max Planck Society
Avery E. Broderick
University of Waterloo
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Dominique Broguiere
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Thomas Bronzwaer
Radboud University
Do-Young Byun
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
University of Science and Technology (UST)
John E. Carlstrom
University of Chicago
Andrew Chael
Princeton University
Chi-kwan Chan
University of Arizona
Shami Chatterjee
Cornell University
Koushik Chatterjee
University of Amsterdam
Ming-Tang Chen
Academia Sinica
Yongjun Chen
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Paul M. Chesler
Harvard University
Ilje Cho
University of Science and Technology (UST)
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Pierre Christian
Fairfield University
John Conway
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
James M. Cordes
Cornell University
Thomas M. Crawford
University of Chicago
Geoffrey B. Crew
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Alejandro Cruz-Osorio
Goethe University Frankfurt
Yuzhu Cui
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Jordy Davelaar
Flatiron Institute
Columbia University
Radboud University
Mariafelicia De Laurentis
National Institute for Nuclear Physics
University of Naples Federico II
Goethe University Frankfurt
Roger Deane
University of Witwatersrand
Rhodes University
University of Pretoria
Jessica Dempsey
East Asian Observatory
Gregory Desvignes
Paris Descartes University
Jason Dexter
University of Colorado at Boulder
Sheperd S. Doeleman
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Ralph P. Eatough
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Max Planck Society
Heino Falcke
Radboud University
Joseph Farah
University of Massachusetts Boston
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Vincent L. Fish
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Ed Fomalont
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
H. Alyson Ford
University of Arizona
Raquel Fraga-Encinas
Radboud University
Per Friberg
East Asian Observatory
Christian M. Fromm
Goethe University Frankfurt
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Antonio Fuentes
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Peter Galison
Harvard University
Charles F. Gammie
University of Illinois
Roberto Garcia
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Zachary Gelles
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Olivier Gentaz
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Boris Georgiev
University of Waterloo
Ciriaco Goddi
Leiden University
Radboud University
Roman Gold
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
University of Southern Denmark
Jose L. Gomez
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Gomez-Ruiz
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
National Council for Science and Technology Mexico
Minfeng Gu
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Mark Gurwell
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Kazuhiro Hada
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Daryl Haggard
McGill University
Michael H. Hecht
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Ronald Hesper
University of Groningen
Elizabeth Himwich
Harvard University
Luis C. Ho
Beijing University of Technology
Paul Ho
Academia Sinica
Mareki Honma
University of Tokyo
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Chih-Wei L. Huang
Academia Sinica
Lei Huang
Chinese Academy of Sciences
David H. Hughes
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
Shiro Ikeda
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
The Institute of Statistical Mathematics
University of Tokyo
Makoto Inoue
Academia Sinica
Sara Issaoun
Radboud University
David J. James
ASTRAVEO
Buell T. Jannuzi
University of Arizona
Michael Janssen
Max Planck Society
Britton Jeter
University of Waterloo
Wu Jiang
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Alejandra Jimenez-Rosales
Radboud University
Michael D. Johnson
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Svetlana Jorstad
Saint Petersburg State University - Spsu
Boston University
Taehyun Jung
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
University of Science and Technology (UST)
Mansour Karami
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
University of Waterloo
Ramesh Karuppusamy
Max Planck Society
Tomohisa Kawashima
University of Tokyo
Garrett K. Keating
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Mark Kettenis
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Dong-Jin Kim
Max Planck Society
Jae-Young Kim
Max Planck Society
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Jongsoo Kim
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Junhan Kim
University of Arizona
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Motoki Kino
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Kogakuin University of Technology and Engineering
Jun Yi Koay
Academia Sinica
Yutaro Kofuji
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
University of Tokyo
Patrick M. Koch
Academia Sinica
Shoko Koyama
Academia Sinica
Michael Kramer
Max Planck Society
Carsten Kramer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Thomas P. Krichbaum
Max Planck Society
Cheng-Yu Kuo
National Sun Yat-Sen University
Academia Sinica
Tod R. Lauer
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Sang-Sung Lee
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Aviad Levis
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Yan-Rong Li
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhiyuan Li
Nanjing University
Michael Lindqvist
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
Rocco Lico
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Max Planck Society
Greg Lindahl
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Jun Liu
Max Planck Society
Kuo Liu
Max Planck Society
Elisabetta Liuzzo
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Wen-Ping Lo
Academia Sinica
National Taiwan University
Andrei P. Lobanov
Max Planck Society
Laurent Loinard
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Colin Lonsdale
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Ru-Sen Lu
Max Planck Society
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nicholas R. MacDonald
Max Planck Society
Jirong Mao
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nicola Marchili
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Max Planck Society
Sera Markoff
University of Amsterdam
Daniel P. Marrone
University of Arizona
Alan P. Marscher
Boston University
Ivan Marti-Vidal
Universitat de Valencia
Satoki Matsushita
Academia Sinica
Lynn D. Matthews
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Lia Medeiros
University of Arizona
Institute for Advanced Study
Karl M. Menten
Max Planck Society
Izumi Mizuno
East Asian Observatory
Yosuke Mizuno
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Goethe University Frankfurt
James M. Moran
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Kotaro Moriyama
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Monika Moscibrodzka
Radboud University
Cornelia Mueller
Max Planck Society
Radboud University
Gibwa Musoke
University of Amsterdam
Radboud University
Alejandro Mus Mejias
Universitat de Valencia
Daniel Michalik
University of Chicago
European Space Agency (ESA)
Andrew Nadolski
University of Illinois
Hiroshi Nagai
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
Neil M. Nagar
University of Concepcion
Masanori Nakamura
Academia Sinica
National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College
Ramesh Narayan
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Gopal Narayanan
University of Massachusetts
Iniyan Natarajan
University of Pretoria
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)
University of Witwatersrand
Rhodes University
Antonios Nathanail
Goethe University Frankfurt
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Joseph Neilsen
Villanova University
Roberto Neri
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Chunchong Ni
University of Waterloo
Aristeidis Noutsos
Max Planck Society
Michael A. Nowak
Washington University in St. Louis
Hiroki Okino
University of Tokyo
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Hector Olivares
Radboud University
Gisela N. Ortiz-Leon
Max Planck Society
Tomoaki Oyama
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Feryal Oze
Aalto University
Daniel C. M. Palumbo
Flatiron Institute
Jongho Park
Academia Sinica
Nimesh Patel
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Ue-Li Pen
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
University of Toronto
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Dominic W. Pesce
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Vincent Pietu
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Richard Plambeck
University of California at Berkeley
Aleksandar PopStefanija
University of Massachusetts
Oliver Porth
University of Amsterdam
Goethe University Frankfurt
Felix M. Poetzl
Max Planck Society
Ben Prather
University of Illinois
Jorge A. Preciado-Lopez
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Dimitrios Psaltis
University of Arizona
Hung-Yi Pu
Academia Sinica
National Taiwan Normal University
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Venkatessh Ramakrishnan
University of Concepcion
Ramprasad Rao
Academia Sinica
Mark G. Rawlings
East Asian Observatory
Alexander W. Raymond
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Luciano Rezzolla
Goethe University Frankfurt
Trinity College Dublin
Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies
Angelo Ricarte
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Bart Ripperda
Flatiron Institute
Princeton University
Freek Roelofs
Radboud University
Alan Rogers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Eduardo Ros
Max Planck Society
Mel Rose
University of Arizona
Arash Roshanineshat
University of Arizona
Helge Rottmann
Max Planck Society
Alan L. Roy
Max Planck Society
Chet Ruszczyk
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kazi L. J. Rygl
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Salvador Sanchez
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
David Sanchez-Arguelles
National Council for Science and Technology Mexico
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
Mahito Sasada
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Hiroshima University
Tuomas Savolainen
Max Planck Society
Aalto University
F. Peter Schloerb
University of Massachusetts
Karl-Friedrich Schuster
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Lijing Shao
Beijing University of Technology
Max Planck Society
Zhiqiang Shen
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Des Small
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Bong Won Sohn
University of Science and Technology (UST)
Yonsei University
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Jason SooHoo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
He Sun
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Fumie Tazaki
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Alexandra J. Tetarenko
East Asian Observatory
Paul Tiede
University of Waterloo
Remo P. J. Tilanus
University of Arizona
Leiden University
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
Radboud University
Michael Titus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kenji Toma
Tohoku University
Pablo Torne
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Max Planck Society
Tyler Trent
University of Arizona
Efthalia Traianou
Max Planck Society
Sascha Trippe
Seoul National University
Ilse van Bemmel
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Huib Jan van Langevelde
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Leiden University
Daniel R. van Rossum
Radboud University
Jan Wagner
Max Planck Society
Derek Ward-Thompson
University of Central Lancashire
John Wardle
Brandeis University
Jonathan Weintroub
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Norbert Wex
Max Planck Society
Robert Wharton
Max Planck Society
Maciek Wielgus
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
George N. Wong
University of Illinois
Qingwen Wu
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Doosoo Yoon
University of Amsterdam
Andre Young
Radboud University
Ken Young
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Ziri Younsi
University College London (UCL)
Goethe University Frankfurt
Feng Yuan
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ye-Fei Yuan
University of Science and Technology of China
J. Anton Zensus
Max Planck Society
Guang-Yao Zhao
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Shan-Shan Zhao
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 910 1 L13Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/abe4de