A Universal Power-law Prescription for Variability from Synthetic Images of Black Hole Accretion Flows
Journal article, 2022
We present a framework for characterizing the spatiotemporal power spectrum of the variability expected from the horizon-scale emission structure around supermassive black holes, and we apply this framework to a library of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations and associated general relativistic ray-traced images relevant for Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sgr A*. We find that the variability power spectrum is generically a red-noise process in both the temporal and spatial dimensions, with the peak in power occurring on the longest timescales and largest spatial scales. When both the time-averaged source structure and the spatially integrated light-curve variability are removed, the residual power spectrum exhibits a universal broken power-law behavior. On small spatial frequencies, the residual power spectrum rises as the square of the spatial frequency and is proportional to the variance in the centroid of emission. Beyond some peak in variability power, the residual power spectrum falls as that of the time-averaged source structure, which is similar across simulations; this behavior can be naturally explained if the variability arises from a multiplicative random field that has a steeper high-frequency power-law index than that of the time-averaged source structure. We briefly explore the ability of power spectral variability studies to constrain physical parameters relevant for the GRMHD simulations, which can be scaled to provide predictions for black holes in a range of systems in the optically thin regime. We present specific expectations for the behavior of the M87* and Sgr A* accretion flows as observed by the EHT.
Magnetohydrodynamics
VLBI
black holes
Author
Boris Georgiev
University of Waterloo
Dominic W. Pesce
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Avery E. Broderick
University of Waterloo
George N. Wong
Institute for Advanced Studies
Vedant Dhruv
University of Illinois
M. Wielgus
Max Planck Society
Charles F. Gammie
University of Illinois
Chi Kwan Chan
University of Arizona
Koushik Chatterjee
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Razieh Emami
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Yosuke Mizuno
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
R. Gold
University of Southern Denmark
Christian M. Fromm
Max Planck Society
Angelo Ricarte
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Doosoo Yoon
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
Abhishek V. Joshi
University of Illinois
Ben Prather
University of Illinois
Alejandro Cruz-Osorio
Goethe University Frankfurt
Michael D. Johnson
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Oliver Porth
Goethe University Frankfurt
Héctor Olivares
Radboud University
Ziri Younsi
Goethe University Frankfurt
Luciano Rezzolla
Goethe University Frankfurt
Jesse Vos
Radboud University
Richard Qiu
Harvard University
Antonios Nathanail
Goethe University Frankfurt
Ramesh Narayan
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
A. Chael
Princeton University
Richard Anantua
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
M. Mościbrodzka
Radboud University
Kazunori Akiyama
Harvard University
Antxon Alberdi
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Walter Alef
Max Planck Society
Juan-Carlos Algaba
University of Malaya
K. Asada
Academia Sinica
R. Azulay
Max Planck Society
U. Bach
Max Planck Society
A. K. Baczko
Max Planck Society
David Ball
University of Arizona
Mislav Baloković
Yale University
John Barrett
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
M. Bauböck
University of Illinois
Bradford A. Benson
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Dan Bintley
East Asian Observatory
Lindy Blackburn
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
R. Blundell
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
K. L. Bouman
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
G. C. Bower
Academia Sinica
Hope Boyce
McGill University
M. Bremer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
C. D. Brinkerink
Radboud University
Roger Brissenden
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Silke Britzen
Max Planck Society
D. Broguière
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Thomas Bronzwaer
Radboud University
Sandra Bustamante
University of Massachusetts
Do Young Byun
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
J. E. Carlstrom
University of Chicago
Chiara Ceccobello
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
S. Chatterjee
Cornell University
Ming Tang Chen
Academia Sinica
Yongjun Chen
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Xiaopeng Cheng
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
I. Cho
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Pierre Christian
Fairfield University
Nicholas S. Conroy
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
John Conway
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
James M. Cordes
Cornell University
Thomas M. Crawford
University of Chicago
G. Crew
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Yuzhu Cui
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jordy Davelaar
Radboud University
Mariafelicia De Laurentis
Goethe University Frankfurt
R. P. Deane
University of Witwatersrand
Jessica Dempsey
East Asian Observatory
Gregory Desvignes
Max Planck Society
Jason Dexter
University of Colorado at Boulder
S. Doeleman
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Sean Dougal
University of Arizona
Sergio A. Dzib
Max Planck Society
Ralph P. Eatough
Max Planck Society
H.D. Falcke
Radboud University
Joseph R. Farah
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
V. Fish
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
E. Fomalont
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
H. Alyson Ford
University of Arizona
R. Fraga-Encinas
Radboud University
William T. Freeman
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
P. Friberg
East Asian Observatory
Antonio Fuentes
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Peter Galison
Harvard University
Roberto Garcia
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Olivier Gentaz
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
C. Goddi
University of Cagliari
Arturo I. Gómez-Ruiz
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
J. L. Gomez
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Minfeng Gu
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
M. Gurwell
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
K. Hada
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Daryl Haggard
McGill University
Kari Haworth
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Michael H. Hecht
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
R. Hesper
University of Groningen
Dirk Heumann
University of Arizona
Luis C. Ho
Beijing University of Technology
Paul Ho
Academia Sinica
M. Honma
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Chih Wei L. Huang
Academia Sinica
Lei Huang
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
D. Hughes
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
Shiro Ikeda
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
C. M. V. Impellizzeri
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Makoto Inoue
Academia Sinica
S. Issaoun
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
David J. James
ASTRAVEO
Buell T. Jannuzi
University of Arizona
Michael Janssen
Max Planck Society
Britton Jeter
Academia Sinica
Wu Jiang
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Alejandra Jimenez-Rosales
Radboud University
S.G. Jorstad
Boston University
Taehyun Jung
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Mansour Karami
University of Waterloo
R. Karuppusamy
Max Planck Society
Tomohisa Kawashima
University of Tokyo
G. Keating
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
M. M. Kettenis
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Dong-Jin Kim
Max Planck Society
Jae-Young Kim
Max Planck Society
Jongsoo Kim
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Junhan Kim
University of Arizona
M. Kino
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Jun Yi Koay
Academia Sinica
Prashant Kocherlakota
Goethe University Frankfurt
Yutaro Kofuji
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Patrick M. Koch
Academia Sinica
Shoko Koyama
Academia Sinica
C. Kramer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
M.A. Kramer
Max Planck Society
T.P. Krichbaum
Max Planck Society
Cheng-Yu Kuo
Academia Sinica
Noemi La Bella
Radboud University
Tod R. Lauer
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Daeyoung Lee
University of Illinois
Sang Sung Lee
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Luis Lehner
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Po Kin Leung
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Aviad Levis
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Zhiyuan Li
Nanjing University
R. Lico
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Greg Lindahl
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Michael Lindqvist
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
Mikhail Lisakov
Max Planck Society
Jun Liu
Max Planck Society
Kuo Liu
Max Planck Society
Elisabetta Liuzzo
Istituto di Radioastronomia
Wen-Ping Lo
Academia Sinica
A. P. Lobanov
Max Planck Society
L. Loinard
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Colin Lonsdale
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
R.S. Lu
Max Planck Society
Jirong Mao
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nicola Marchili
Max Planck Society
S. Markoff
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
D. P. Marrone
University of Arizona
A. Marscher
Boston University
Ivan Marti-Vidal
Universitat de Valencia
S. Matsushita
Academia Sinica
Lynn D. Matthews
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
K. Menten
Max Planck Society
Daniel Michalik
University of Chicago
Izumi Mizuno
East Asian Observatory
James M. Moran
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Kotaro Moriyama
Goethe University Frankfurt
C. Müller
Max Planck Society
A. Mus
Universitat de Valencia
Gibwa Musoke
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
I. Myserlis
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Andrew Nadolski
University of Illinois
H. Nagai
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
N. M. Nagar
University of Concepcion
Masanori Nakamura
Academia Sinica
Gopal Narayanan
University of Massachusetts
Iniyan Natarajan
University of Witwatersrand
Santiago Navarro Fuentes
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Joseph Neilsen
Villanova University
R. Neri
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Chunchong Ni
University of Waterloo
A. Noutsos
Max Planck Society
Michael A. Nowak
Washington University in St. Louis
Junghwan Oh
Sejong University
Hiroki Okino
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
G.N. Ortiz-León
Max Planck Society
Tomoaki Oyama
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Daniel C.M. Palumbo
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Georgios Filippos Paraschos
Max Planck Society
Jongho Park
Academia Sinica
Harriet Parsons
East Asian Observatory
N. Patel
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
U. L. Pen
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Vincent Piétu
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Richard L. Plambeck
University of California
Aleksandar PopStefanija
University of Massachusetts
Felix M. Pötzl
Max Planck Society
Jorge A. Preciado-López
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Hung-Yi Pu
Academia Sinica
Venkatessh Ramakrishnan
University of Concepcion
R. Rao
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
M.G. Rawlings
East Asian Observatory
Alexander W. Raymond
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Bart Ripperda
Flatiron Institute
F. Roelofs
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
A.E.E. Rogers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Eduardo Ros
Max Planck Society
C. Romero-Cañizales
Academia Sinica
Arash Roshanineshat
University of Arizona
H. Rottmann
Max Planck Society
A. Roy
Max Planck Society
Ignacio Ruiz
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
C. Ruszczyk
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kazi L.J. Rygl
Istituto di Radioastronomia
S. Sanchez
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
David Sánchez-Arguelles
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
M. Sánchez Portal
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Mahito Sasada
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Kaushik Satapathy
University of Arizona
T. Savolainen
Max Planck Society
F. P. Schloerb
University of Massachusetts
Jonathan Schonfeld
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
K. Schuster
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Lijing Shao
Max Planck Society
Zhi Qiang Shen
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Des Small
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
B. W. Sohn
East Asian Observatory
J. SooHoo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kamal Souccar
University of Massachusetts
He Sun
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Fumie Tazaki
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Alexandra J. Tetarenko
NASA Hubble Fellowship Program
Paul Tiede
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
R. P. J. Tilanus
University of Arizona
M. Titus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Pablo Torne
Max Planck Society
E. Traianou
Max Planck Society
Tyler Trent
University of Arizona
S. Trippe
Seoul National University
Matthew Turk
University of Illinois
I. van Bemmel
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
H. J. van Langevelde
Leiden University
Daniel R. van Rossum
Radboud University
Jan Wagner
Max Planck Society
D. Ward-Thompson
University of Central Lancashire
John Wardle
Brandeis University
J. Weintroub
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Norbert Wex
Max Planck Society
Robert Wharton
Max Planck Society
K. Wiik
Tuorla Observatory
Gunther Witzel
Max Planck Society
Michael F. Wondrak
Radboud University
Qingwen Wu
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Paul Yamaguchi
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
A. Young
Radboud University
K. Young
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Feng Yuan
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Ye-Fei Yuan
East Asian Observatory
A.J. Zensus
Max Planck Society
Shuo Zhang
Bard College
G. Y. Zhao
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Shan-Shan Zhao
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 930 2 L20Subject Categories
Ocean and River Engineering
Other Physics Topics
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/ac65eb