THEMIS: A Parameter Estimation Framework for the Event Horizon Telescope
Journal article, 2020
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) provides the unprecedented ability to directly resolve the structure and dynamics of black hole emission regions on scales smaller than their horizons. This has the potential to critically probe the mechanisms by which black holes accrete and launch outflows, and the structure of supermassive black hole spacetimes. However, accessing this information is a formidable analysis challenge for two reasons. First, the EHT natively produces a variety of data types that encode information about the image structure in nontrivial ways; these are subject to a variety of systematic effects associated with very long baseline interferometry and are supplemented by a wide variety of auxiliary data on the primary EHT targets from decades of other observations. Second, models of the emission regions and their interaction with the black hole are complex, highly uncertain, and computationally expensive to construct. As a result, the scientific utilization of EHT observations requires a flexible, extensible, and powerful analysis framework. We present such a framework, Themis, which defines a set of interfaces between models, data, and sampling algorithms that facilitates future development. We describe the design and currently existing components of Themis, how Themis has been validated thus far, and present additional analyses made possible by Themis that illustrate its capabilities. Importantly, we demonstrate that Themis is able to reproduce prior EHT analyses, extend these, and do so in a computationally efficient manner that can efficiently exploit modern high-performance computing facilities. Themis has already been used extensively in the scientific analysis and interpretation of the first EHT observations of M87.
Author
Avery E. Broderick
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
R. Gold
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Mansour Karami
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Jorge A. Preciado-López
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Paul Tiede
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Hung-Yi Pu
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Kazunori Akiyama
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Antxon Alberdi
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Walter Alef
Max Planck Society
K. Asada
Academia Sinica
R. Azulay
Max Planck Society
A. K. Baczko
Max Planck Society
Mislav Baloković
Harvard University
John Barrett
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Dan Bintley
East Asian Observatory
Lindy Blackburn
Harvard University
W. Boland
Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie (NOVA)
K. L. Bouman
Harvard University
G. C. Bower
Academia Sinica
M. Bremer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
C. D. Brinkerink
Radboud University
Roger Brissenden
Harvard University
Silke Britzen
Max Planck Society
D. Broguière
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Thomas Bronzwaer
Radboud University
Do Young Byun
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
J. E. Carlstrom
University of Chicago
A. Chael
Harvard University
S. Chatterjee
Cornell University
Koushik Chatterjee
University of Amsterdam
Ming Tang Chen
Academia Sinica
Yongjun Chen
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
I. Cho
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
John Conway
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
James M. Cordes
Cornell University
G. Crew
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Yuzhu Cui
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Jordy Davelaar
Radboud University
Mariafelicia De Laurentis
Goethe University Frankfurt
R. P. Deane
University of Pretoria
Jessica Dempsey
East Asian Observatory
Gregory Desvignes
Max Planck Society
S. Doeleman
Harvard University
Ralph P. Eatough
Max Planck Society
H.D. Falcke
Radboud University
V. Fish
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Ed Fomalont
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
R. Fraga-Encinas
Radboud University
P. Friberg
East Asian Observatory
Christian M. Fromm
Goethe University Frankfurt
Peter Galison
Harvard University
Charles F. Gammie
University of Illinois
Roberto Garcia
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Olivier Gentaz
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Boris Georgiev
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
C. Goddi
Radboud University
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
Michael H. Hecht
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
R. Hesper
University of Groningen
Luis C. Ho
Beijing University of Technology
P. 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
Makoto Inoue
Academia Sinica
S. Issaoun
Radboud University
David J. James
Harvard University
Michael Janssen
Radboud University
Britton Jeter
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Wu Jiang
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Alejandra Jimenez-Rosales
Max Planck Society
Michael D. Johnson
Harvard University
S.G. Jorstad
Saint Petersburg State University - Spsu
Taehyun Jung
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
R. Karuppusamy
Max Planck Society
Tomohisa Kawashima
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
G. Keating
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
M. M. Kettenis
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Jae-Young Kim
Max Planck Society
Jongsoo Kim
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
M. Kino
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Jun Yi Koay
Academia Sinica
Patrick M. Koch
Academia Sinica
Shoko Koyama
Academia Sinica
M.A. Kramer
Max Planck Society
C. Kramer
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
T.P. Krichbaum
Max Planck Society
Cheng-Yu Kuo
National Sun Yat-Sen University
Sang Sung Lee
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Yan Rong Li
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhiyuan Li
Nanjing University
Michael Lindqvist
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
R. Lico
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
N. R. Macdonald
Max Planck Society
Jirong Mao
Chinese Academy of Sciences
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
Yosuke Mizuno
Goethe University Frankfurt
Izumi Mizuno
East Asian Observatory
James M. Moran
Harvard University
Kotaro Moriyama
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
M. Mościbrodzka
Radboud University
C. Müller
Max Planck Society
H. Nagai
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
N. M. Nagar
University of Concepcion
Masanori Nakamura
Academia Sinica
Ramesh Narayan
Harvard University
Gopal Narayanan
University of Massachusetts
Iniyan Natarajan
Rhodes University
R. Neri
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Chunchong Ni
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
A. Noutsos
Max Planck Society
Hiroki Okino
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Héctor Olivares
Goethe University Frankfurt
G.N. Ortiz-León
Max Planck Society
Tomoaki Oyama
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Daniel C.M. Palumbo
Harvard University
Jongho Park
Academia Sinica
U. L. Pen
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Dominic W. Pesce
Harvard University
Vincent Piétu
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
Richard L. Plambeck
University of California
Aleksandar PopStefanija
University of Massachusetts
Oliver Porth
Goethe University Frankfurt
Ben Prather
University of Illinois
Venkatessh Ramakrishnan
University of Concepcion
R. Rao
Academia Sinica
M.G. Rawlings
East Asian Observatory
Alexander W. Raymond
Harvard University
Luciano Rezzolla
Goethe University Frankfurt
Bart Ripperda
Goethe University Frankfurt
F. Roelofs
Radboud University
A.E.E. Rogers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Eduardo Ros
Max Planck Society
Mel Rose
University of Arizona
H. Rottmann
Max Planck Society
C. Ruszczyk
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Benjamin R. Ryan
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kazi L.J. Rygl
Istituto di Radioastronomia
S. Sanchez
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
David Sánchez-Arguelles
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics
Mahito Sasada
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
T. Savolainen
Max Planck Society
F. P. Schloerb
University of Massachusetts
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
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
J. SooHoo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Fumie Tazaki
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
R. P. J. Tilanus
Radboud University
M. Titus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kenji Toma
Tohoku University
Pablo Torne
Max Planck Society
E. Traianou
Max Planck Society
S. Trippe
Seoul National University
Shuichiro Tsuda
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
I. van Bemmel
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
H. J. van Langevelde
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Daniel R. van Rossum
Radboud University
Jan Wagner
Max Planck Society
John Wardle
Brandeis University
J. Weintroub
Harvard University
Norbert Wex
Max Planck Society
Robert Wharton
Max Planck Society
M. Wielgus
Harvard University
George N. Wong
University of Illinois
Qingwen Wu
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Doosoo Yoon
University of Amsterdam
A. Young
Radboud University
Ken Young
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Ziri Younsi
Goethe University Frankfurt
Feng Yuan
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Ye-Fei Yuan
University of Science and Technology of China
A.J. Zensus
Max Planck Society
G. Y. Zhao
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA)
Shan-Shan Zhao
Radboud University
Ziyan Zhu
Harvard University
Astrophysical Journal
0004-637X (ISSN) 1538-4357 (eISSN)
Vol. 897 2 139Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
DOI
10.3847/1538-4357/ab91a4