First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. VI. Testing the Black Hole Metric
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022

Astrophysical black holes are expected to be described by the Kerr metric. This is the only stationary, vacuum, axisymmetric metric, without electromagnetic charge, that satisfies Einstein's equations and does not have pathologies outside of the event horizon. We present new constraints on potential deviations from the Kerr prediction based on 2017 EHT observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). We calibrate the relationship between the geometrically defined black hole shadow and the observed size of the ring-like images using a library that includes both Kerr and non-Kerr simulations. We use the exquisite prior constraints on the mass-to-distance ratio for Sgr A* to show that the observed image size is within similar to 10% of the Kerr predictions. We use these bounds to constrain metrics that are parametrically different from Kerr, as well as the charges of several known spacetimes. To consider alternatives to the presence of an event horizon, we explore the possibility that Sgr A* is a compact object with a surface that either absorbs and thermally reemits incident radiation or partially reflects it. Using the observed image size and the broadband spectrum of Sgr A*, we conclude that a thermal surface can be ruled out and a fully reflective one is unlikely. We compare our results to the broader landscape of gravitational tests. Together with the bounds found for stellar-mass black holes and the M87 black hole, our observations provide further support that the external spacetimes of all black holes are described by the Kerr metric, independent of their mass.

Författare

Kazunori Akiyama

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Harvard University

Antxon Alberdi

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Walter Alef

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Juan Carlos Algaba

University of Malaya

Richard Anantua

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

University of Texas at San Antonio

Keiichi Asada

Academia Sinica

Rebecca Azulay

Universitat de Valencia

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Uwe Bach

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Anne-Kathrin Baczko

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

David Ball

University of Arizona

Mislav Balokovic

Yale University

John Barrett

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Michi Baubock

University of Illinois

Bradford A. Benson

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

University of Chicago

Dan Bintley

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Lindy Blackburn

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Raymond Blundell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Katherine L. Bouman

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Geoffrey C. Bower

University of Hawaii

Academia Sinica

Hope Boyce

McGill University

Michael Bremer

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Christiaan D. Brinkerink

Radboud Universiteit

Roger Brissenden

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Silke Britzen

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Avery E. Broderick

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Dominique Broguiere

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Thomas Bronzwaer

Radboud Universiteit

Sandra Bustamante

University of Massachusetts

Do-Young Byun

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

University of Science and Technology (UST)

John E. Carlstrom

University of Chicago

Chiara Ceccobello

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Andrew Chael

Princeton University

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Chi-kwan Chan

University of Arizona

Koushik Chatterjee

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Shami Chatterjee

Cornell University

Ming-Tang Chen

Academia Sinica

Yongjun Chen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Xiaopeng Cheng

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Ilje Cho

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Pierre Christian

Fairfield University

Nicholas S. Conroy

University of Illinois

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

John Conway

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

James M. Cordes

Cornell University

Thomas M. Crawford

University of Chicago

Geoffrey B. Crew

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Alejandro Cruz-Osorio

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Yuzhu Cui

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Jordy Davelaar

Radboud Universiteit

Flatiron Institute

Columbia University

Mariafelicia De Laurentis

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare

Roger Deane

Universiteit van Pretoria

Rhodes University

University of Witwatersrand

Jessica Dempsey

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Gregory Desvignes

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Université Paris Descartes

Jason Dexter

University of Colorado

Vedant Dhruv

University of Illinois

Sheperd S. Doeleman

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Sean Dougal

University of Arizona

Sergio A. Dzib

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Ralph P. Eatough

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Razieh Emami

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Heino Falcke

Radboud Universiteit

Joseph Farah

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network

University of California

Vincent L. Fish

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ed Fomalont

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

H. Alyson Ford

University of Arizona

Raquel Fraga-Encinas

Radboud Universiteit

William T. Freeman

Google Inc.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Per Friberg

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Christian M. Fromm

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg

Antonio Fuentes

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

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

University of Waterloo

Ciriaco Goddi

Universita degli Studi di Cagliari

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Roman Gold

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Syddansk Universitet

Gomez-Ruiz

Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrońica

Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia Mexico

Jose L. Gomez

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Minfeng Gu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Mark Gurwell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Kazuhiro Hada

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

Daryl Haggard

McGill University

Kari Haworth

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Michael H. Hecht

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ronald Hesper

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Dirk Heumann

University of Arizona

Luis C. Ho

Beijing University of Technology

Paul Ho

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Academia Sinica

Mareki Honma

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

University of Tokyo

Chih-Wei L. Huang

Academia Sinica

Lei Huang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

David H. Hughes

Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrońica

Shiro Ikeda

The Institute of Statistical Mathematics

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

University of Tokyo

C. M. Violette Impellizzeri

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Universiteit Leiden

Makoto Inoue

Academia Sinica

Sara Issaoun

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

David J. James

ASTRAVEO

Buell T. Jannuzi

University of Arizona

Michael Janssen

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Britton Jeter

Academia Sinica

Wu Jiang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Alejandra Jimenez-Rosales

Radboud Universiteit

Michael D. Johnson

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Svetlana Jorstad

Boston University

Joshi

University of Illinois

Taehyun Jung

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

University of Science and Technology (UST)

Mansour Karami

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Ramesh Karuppusamy

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

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-Gesellschaft

Jae-Young Kim

Kyungpook National University

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Jongsoo Kim

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Junhan Kim

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

University of Arizona

Motoki Kino

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Kogakuin University of Technology and Engineering

Jun Yi Koay

Academia Sinica

Prashant Kocherlakota

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Yutaro Kofuji

University of Tokyo

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Patrick M. Koch

Academia Sinica

Shoko Koyama

Niigata University

Academia Sinica

Carsten Kramer

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Michael Kramer

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Thomas P. Krichbaum

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Cheng-Yu Kuo

National Sun Yat-Sen University

Academia Sinica

Noemi La Bella

Radboud Universiteit

Tod R. Lauer

National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Daeyoung Lee

University of Illinois

Sang-Sung Lee

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Po Kin Leung

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Aviad Levis

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Zhiyuan Li

Nanjing University

Rocco Lico

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Greg Lindahl

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Michael Lindqvist

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Onsala rymdobservatorium

Mikhail Lisakov

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Jun Liu

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Kuo Liu

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Elisabetta Liuzzo

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Italian ALMA Regional Centre

Wen-Ping Lo

Academia Sinica

National Taiwan University

Andrei P. Lobanov

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Laurent Loinard

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Colin J. Lonsdale

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ru-Sen Lu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Jirong Mao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nicola Marchili

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Italian ALMA Regional Centre

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Sera Markoff

Universiteit Van 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

Institute for Advanced Study

University of Arizona

Karl M. Menten

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Daniel Michalik

Europeiska rymdorganisationen (ESA)

University of Chicago

Izumi Mizuno

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Yosuke Mizuno

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

James M. Moran

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Kotaro Moriyama

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Monika Moscibrodzka

Radboud Universiteit

Cornelia Muller

Radboud Universiteit

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Alejandro Mus

Universitat de Valencia

Gibwa Musoke

Radboud Universiteit

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

Ioannis Myserlis

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Andrew Nadolski

University of Illinois

Hiroshi Nagai

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Neil M. Nagar

Universidad de Concepción

Masanori Nakamura

Academia Sinica

National Institute of Technology (KOSEN)

Ramesh Narayan

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Gopal Narayanan

University of Massachusetts

Iniyan Natarajan

South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)

University of Witwatersrand

Antonios Nathanail

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Santiago Navarro Fuentes

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Joseph Neilsen

Villanova University

Roberto Neri

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Chunchong Ni

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Aristeidis Noutsos

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Michael A. Nowak

Washington University in St. Louis

Junghwan Oh

Sejong University

Hiroki Okino

University of Tokyo

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Hector Olivares

Radboud Universiteit

Gisela N. Ortiz-Leon

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Tomoaki Oyama

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Feryal Ozel

University of Arizona

Daniel C. M. Palumbo

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Georgios Filippos Paraschos

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Jongho Park

Academia Sinica

Harriet Parsons

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Nimesh Patel

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ue-Li Pen

University of Toronto

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Academia Sinica

Dominic W. Pesce

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Vincent Pietu

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Richard Plambeck

University of California

Aleksandar PopStefanija

University of Massachusetts

Oliver Porth

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

Felix M. Potzl

University College Cork

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

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

Venkatessh Ramakrishnan

Universidad de Concepción

Aalto-Yliopisto

Turun Yliopisto

Ramprasad Rao

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Mark G. Rawlings

East Asian Observatory

Gemini Observatory North

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Alexander W. Raymond

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Luciano Rezzolla

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Trinity College Dublin

Angelo Ricarte

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Bart Ripperda

Flatiron Institute

Princeton University

Freek Roelofs

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Radboud Universiteit

Alan Rogers

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Eduardo Ros

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Cristina Romero-Canizales

Academia Sinica

Arash Roshanineshat

University of Arizona

Helge Rottmann

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Alan L. Roy

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Ignacio Ruiz

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Chet Ruszczyk

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Kazi L. J. Rygl

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Italian ALMA Regional Centre

Salvador Sanchez

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

David Sanchez-Arguelles

Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia Mexico

Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrońica

Miguel Sanchez-Portal

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Mahito Sasada

Tokyo Institute of Technology

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Hiroshima University

Kaushik Satapathy

University of Arizona

Tuomas Savolainen

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Aalto-Yliopisto

F. Peter Schloerb

University of Massachusetts

Jonathan Schonfeld

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Karl-Friedrich Schuster

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Lijing Shao

Beijing University of Technology

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Zhiqiang Shen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Des Small

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Bong Won Sohn

University of Science and Technology (UST)

East Asian Observatory

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Yonsei University

Jason 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

Texas Tech University

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Paul Tiede

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Remo P. J. Tilanus

University of Arizona

Universiteit Leiden

Radboud Universiteit

Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)

Michael Titus

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Pablo Torne

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Efthalia Traianou

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Tyler Trent

University of Arizona

Sascha Trippe

Seoul National University

Matthew Turk

University of Illinois

Ilse van Bemmel

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Huib Jan van Langevelde

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

University of New Mexico

Universiteit Leiden

Daniel R. van Rossum

Radboud Universiteit

Jesse Vos

Radboud Universiteit

Jan Wagner

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Derek Ward-Thompson

University of Central Lancashire

John Wardle

Brandeis University

Jonathan Weintroub

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Norbert Wex

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Robert Wharton

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Maciek Wielgus

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Kaj Wiik

Turun Yliopisto

Gunther Witzel

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Michael F. Wondrak

Radboud Universiteit

George N. Wong

Institute for Advanced Study

Princeton University

Qingwen Wu

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Paul Yamaguchi

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Doosoo Yoon

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

Andre Young

Radboud Universiteit

Ken Young

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ziri Younsi

University College London (UCL)

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Feng Yuan

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ye-Fei Yuan

East Asian Observatory

University of Science and Technology of China

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

J. Anton Zensus

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Shuo Zhang

Bard College

Guang-Yao Zhao

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Shan-Shan Zhao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Astrophysical Journal Letters

2041-8205 (ISSN) 2041-8213 (eISSN)

Vol. 930 2 L17

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2011)

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

Annan fysik

Radiologi och bildbehandling

DOI

10.3847/2041-8213/ac6756

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2025-07-03