First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
Journal article, 2022
We present the first Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the Galactic center source associated with a supermassive black hole. These observations were conducted in 2017 using a global interferometric array of eight telescopes operating at a wavelength of λ = 1.3 mm. The EHT data resolve a compact emission region with intrahour variability. A variety of imaging and modeling analyses all support an image that is dominated by a bright, thick ring with a diameter of 51.8 ± 2.3 μas (68% credible interval). The ring has modest azimuthal brightness asymmetry and a comparatively dim interior. Using a large suite of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the EHT images of Sgr A* are consistent with the expected appearance of a Kerr black hole with mass ∼4 × 106 M☉, which is inferred to exist at this location based on previous infrared observations of individual stellar orbits, as well as maser proper-motion studies. Our model comparisons disfavor scenarios where the black hole is viewed at high inclination (i > 50°), as well as nonspinning black holes and those with retrograde accretion disks. Our results provide direct evidence for the presence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and for the first time we connect the predictions from dynamical measurements of stellar orbits on scales of 103-105 gravitational radii to event-horizon-scale images and variability. Furthermore, a comparison with the EHT results for the supermassive black hole M87* shows consistency with the predictions of general relativity spanning over three orders of magnitude in central mass.
Author
Kazunori Akiyama
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Harvard University
Antxon Alberdi
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Walter Alef
Max Planck Society
Juan-Carlos Algaba
University of Malaya
Richard Anantua
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Harvard University
R. Azulay
Universitat de Valencia
Max Planck Society
K. Asada
Academia Sinica
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
University of Chicago
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Dan Bintley
East Asian Observatory
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
Lindy Blackburn
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
R. Blundell
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
K. L. Bouman
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
G. C. Bower
Academia Sinica
University of Hawaii
Hope Boyce
McGill University
M. Bremer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
C. 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
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
University of Science and Technology (UST)
J. E. Carlstrom
The Enrico Fermi Institute
University of Chicago
Chiara Ceccobello
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
A. Chael
Princeton University
NASA Hubble Fellowship Program
Chi Kwan Chan
University of Arizona
Koushik Chatterjee
Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
S. Chatterjee
Cornell University
Ming Tang Chen
Academia Sinica
Yongjun Chen
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaopeng Cheng
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
I. Cho
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Pierre Christian
Fairfield University
Nicholas S. Conroy
University of Illinois
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)
Alejandro Cruz-Osorio
Goethe University Frankfurt
Yuzhu Cui
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Jordy Davelaar
Radboud University
Flatiron Institute
Columbia University
Mariafelicia De Laurentis
National Institute for Nuclear Physics
University of Naples Federico II
Goethe University Frankfurt
R. P. Deane
University of Pretoria
Rhodes University
University of Witwatersrand
Jessica Dempsey
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
East Asian Observatory
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Gregory Desvignes
Max Planck Society
Paris Observatory
Jason Dexter
University of Colorado at Boulder
Vedant Dhruv
University of Illinois
S. Doeleman
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard University
Sean Dougal
University of Arizona
Sergio A. Dzib
Max Planck Society
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Ralph P. Eatough
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Max Planck Society
Razieh Emami
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
H.D. Falcke
Radboud University
Joseph R. Farah
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
University of California
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
Google Inc.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
P. Friberg
East Asian Observatory
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
Christian M. Fromm
Max Planck Society
Goethe University Frankfurt
University of Würzburg
Antonio Fuentes
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Peter Galison
Harvard University
Charles F. Gammie
University of Illinois
Olivier Gentaz
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Boris Georgiev
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
University of Waterloo
Roberto Garcia
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
C. Goddi
University of Cagliari
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
R. Gold
University of Southern Denmark
Goethe University Frankfurt
Arturo I. Gómez-Ruiz
National Council for Science and Technology Mexico
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
J. L. Gomez
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Minfeng Gu
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
M. Gurwell
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
K. Hada
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
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
P. T. P. Ho
East Asian Observatory
Academia Sinica
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
M. Honma
University of Tokyo
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
Chih Wei L. Huang
Academia Sinica
Lei Huang
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
D. Hughes
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
Shiro Ikeda
The Institute of Statistical Mathematics
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
University of Tokyo
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
C. M. V. Impellizzeri
Leiden University
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Makoto Inoue
Academia Sinica
S. Issaoun
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
NASA Hubble Fellowship Program
David J. James
ASTRAVEO
Buell T. Jannuzi
University of Arizona
Michael Janssen
Max Planck Society
Britton Jeter
Academia Sinica
Astrophysical Journal Letters
2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)
Vol. 930 2 L12Subject Categories
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Computer Vision and Robotics (Autonomous Systems)
DOI
10.3847/2041-8213/ac6674