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First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VIII. Magnetic Field Structure near The Event Horizon

The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2021 · Vol. 910(1) · pp. L13–L13

Kazunori Akiyama✉(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Juan Carlos Algaba(University of Malaya)A. Alberdi(Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía)W. Alef(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Richard Anantua(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Keiichi Asada(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Rebecca Azulay(Universitat de València)Anne-Kathrin Baczko(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)David Ball(University of Arizona)Mislav Baloković(Yale University)John Barrett(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)B. A. Benson(Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory)Dan Bintley(East Asian Observatory)Lindy Blackburn(Woodwell Climate Research Center)R. Blundell(Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian)W. Boland(Nederlandse Onderzoekschool Voor Astronomie)Katherine L. Bouman(California Institute of Technology)Geoffrey C. BowerHope Boyce(McGill University)Michael Bremer(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)Christiaan D. Brinkerink(Radboud University Nijmegen)Roger Brissenden(Woodwell Climate Research Center)S. Britzen(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Avery E. Broderick(University of Waterloo)Dominique Broguière(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)Thomas Bronzwaer(Radboud University Nijmegen)Do‐Young Byun(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)J. E. Carlstrom(Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory)Andrew Chael(Princeton University)Chi‐kwan Chan(University of Arizona)Shami Chatterjee(Cornell University)Koushik Chatterjee(University of Amsterdam)Ming‐Tang ChenXiaopeng ChengPaul M. Chesler(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Ilje Cho(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)Pierre Christian(Fairfield University)J. E. Conway(Chalmers University of Technology)J. M. Cordes(Cornell University)T. M. Crawford(University of Chicago)G. Crew(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)Alejandro Cruz-Osorio(Goethe University Frankfurt)Yuzhu Cui(The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI)Jordy Davelaar(Radboud University Nijmegen)Mariafelicia De Laurentis(Goethe University Frankfurt)Roger Deane(University of the Witwatersrand)Jessica Dempsey(East Asian Observatory)G. Desvignes(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)Jason Dexter(Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics)Sheperd S. Doeleman(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Ralph P. Eatough(Chinese Academy of Sciences)H. Falcke(Radboud University Nijmegen)Joseph Farah(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Vincent L. Fish(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)E. B. Fomalont(National Radio Astronomy Observatory)H. Alyson Ford(University of Arizona)Raquel Fraga-Encinas(Radboud University Nijmegen)Per Friberg(East Asian Observatory)Christian M. Fromm(Goethe University Frankfurt)Antonio Fuentes(Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía)Peter Galison(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Charles F. Gammie(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)Roberto García(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)Zachary Gelles(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Olivier Gentaz(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)Boris Georgiev(University of Waterloo)C. Goddi(Leiden University)Roman Gold(University of Southern Denmark)José L. Gómez(Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía)Arturo I. Gómez-Ruiz(Leiden University)Minfeng GuMark Gurwell(Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian)Kazuhiro Hada(The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI)Daryl Haggard(McGill University)M. H. Hecht(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)Ronald Hesper(University of Groningen)Elizabeth Himwich(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Luis C. HoPaul T. P. Ho(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Mareki Honma(The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI)Chih-Wei L. Huang(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Lei HuangD. H. Hughes(National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics)Shiro Ikeda(Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe)Makoto Inoue(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Sara Issaoun(Radboud University Nijmegen)D. J. James(Whale Center of New England)Buell T. Jannuzi(University of Arizona)Michaël Janssen(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Britton Jeter(University of Waterloo)Wu JiangAlejandra Jiménez-Rosales(Radboud University Nijmegen)Michael D. Johnson(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Svetlana G. Jorstad(Boston University)Taehyun Jung(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)Mansour Karami(University of Waterloo)R. Karuppusamy(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Tomohisa Kawashima(The University of Tokyo)Garrett K. Keating(Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian)Mark Kettenis(Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC)Dong-Jin Kim(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Jae-Young Kim(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)Jongsoo Kim(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)Junhan Kim(California Institute of Technology)Motoki Kino(Kogakuin University)Jun Yi Koay(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Yutaro Kofuji(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)Patrick M. Koch(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Shoko Koyama(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)M. Kramer(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)C. Krämer(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)T. P. Krichbaum(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Cheng‐Yu Kuo(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Tod R. Lauer(Kitt Peak National Observatory)Sang-Sung Lee(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)Aviad Levis(California Institute of Technology)Yan-Rong LiZhiyuan 志远 Li 李M. Lindqvist(Chalmers University of Technology)Rocco Lico(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Greg Lindahl(Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian)Jun 俊 Liu 刘Kuo Liu(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Elisabetta Liuzzo(Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna)Wen-Ping Lo(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)A. P. Lobanov(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Laurent Loinard(Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)C. J. Lonsdale(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)Ru-Sen LuNicholas R. MacDonald(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Jirong 基荣 Mao 毛N. Marchili(Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna)Sera Markoff(University of Amsterdam)Daniel P. Marrone(University of Arizona)Alan P. Marscher(Boston University)Iván Martí-Vidal(Universitat de València)Satoki Matsushita(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Lynn D. Matthews(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)Lia Medeiros(University of Arizona)K. M. Menten(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Izumi Mizuno(East Asian Observatory)Yosuke Mizuno(Goethe University Frankfurt)J. M. Moran(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Kotaro Moriyama(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)Monika Mościbrodzka(Radboud University Nijmegen)Cornelia Müller(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Gibwa Musoke(Radboud University Nijmegen)Alejandro Mus(Universitat de València)Daniel Michalik(University of Chicago)Andrew Nadolski(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)Hiroshi Nagai(The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI)Neil M. Nagar(University of Concepción)Masanori Nakamura(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Ramesh Narayan(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Ramesh Narayan(University of Massachusetts Amherst)Iniyan Natarajan(University of the Witwatersrand)Antonios Nathanail(Goethe University Frankfurt)Joey Neilsen(Villanova University)R. Neri(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)Chunchong Ni(University of Waterloo)A. Noutsos(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Michael A. Nowak(Washington University in St. Louis)Hiroki Okino(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)Héctor Olivares(Radboud University Nijmegen)Gisela N. Ortiz-León(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Tomoaki Oyama(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)Feryal Özel(University of Arizona)Daniel C. M. Palumbo(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Jongho Park(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Nimesh Patel(Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian)Ue‐Li Pen(Canadian Institute for Advanced Research)Dominic W. Pesce(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Vincent Piétu(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)R. L. Plambeck(University of California, Berkeley)Aleksandar PopStefanija(University of Massachusetts Amherst)Oliver Porth(Goethe University Frankfurt)Felix M. Pötzl(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Ben Prather(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)Jorge A. Preciado-López(Perimeter Institute)Dimitrios Psaltis(University of Arizona)Hung-Yi Pu(Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)Venkatessh Ramakrishnan(University of Concepción)Ramprasad RaoMark G. Rawlings(East Asian Observatory)Alexander W. Raymond(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Luciano Rezzolla(Goethe University Frankfurt)Angelo Ricarte(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Bart Ripperda(Princeton University)Freek Roelofs(Radboud University Nijmegen)A. E. E. Rogers(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)E. Ros(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Mel Rose(University of Arizona)Arash Roshanineshat(University of Arizona)Helge Rottmann(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)A. L. Roy(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Chet Ruszczyk(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)K. L. J. Rygl(Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna)Salvador Sánchez(Instituto de Radioastronomía Milimétrica)David Sánchez-Argüelles(National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics)Mahito Sasada(Hiroshima University)T. Savolainen(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)F. Peter Schloerb(University of Massachusetts Amherst)K. Schüster(Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)Lijing Shao(Peking University)Zhi-Qiang ShenDes Small(Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC)Bong Won Sohn(Yonsei University)Jason Soohoo(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)He SunFumie Tazaki(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)Alexandra J. Tetarenko(East Asian Observatory)Paul Tiede(University of Waterloo)R. P. J. Tilanus(Leiden University)Michael S. Titus(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)Kenji Toma(Tohoku University)Pablo Torné(Instituto de Radioastronomía Milimétrica)Tyler Trent(University of Arizona)Efthalia Traianou(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Sascha Trippe(Seoul National University)Ilse van Bemmel(Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC)Huib Jan van Langevelde(Leiden University)Daniel R. van Rossum(Radboud University Nijmegen)Jan Wagner(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)D. Ward–Thompson(University of Lancashire)J. F. C. Wardle(Brandeis University)Jonathan Weintroub(Woodwell Climate Research Center)Norbert Wex(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Robert Wharton(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Maciek Wielgus(Woodwell Climate Research Center)George N. Wong(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)Qingwen WuDoosoo Yoon(University of Amsterdam)André Young(Radboud University Nijmegen)Ken Young(Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian)Ziri Younsi(Goethe University Frankfurt)Ye‐Fei YuanYe‐Fei YuanJ. A. Zensus(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy)Guang-Yao Zhao(Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía)Shan-Shan Zhao(Shanghai Astronomical Observatory)

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Abstract

Abstract 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 ∼ 10 4–7 cm −3 , magnetic field strength B ∼ 1–30 G, and electron temperature T e ∼ (1–12) × 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) × 10 −4 M ⊙ yr −1 .

Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations Gamma-ray bursts and supernovaeEvent horizonEvent (particle physics)HorizonPhysicsTelescopeAstronomyGeologyAstrophysics

Funding

National Science Foundation
Smithsonian Institution
U.S. Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John Templeton Foundation
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Harvard University
University of Chicago
University of Arizona
Compute Canada
Space Telescope Science Institute
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Associated Universities
International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology
Flatiron Health
Government of Canada
Leverhulme Trust
European Commission
National Research Foundation
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Universiteit Leiden
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Radboud Universiteit
Academia Sinica
Chinese Academy of Sciences
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
Generalitat Valenciana
Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
National Research Foundation of Korea
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Vetenskapsrådet
China Scholarship Council
European Southern Observatory
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Junta de Andalucía
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía
Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo
Institut Périmètre de physique théorique
East Asian Core Observatories Association
Toray Science Foundation
Office of Science
National Nuclear Security Administration
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
National Institutes of Natural Sciences
National Key Research and Development Program of China
Office of International Science and Engineering
Fermilab
Los Alamos National Laboratory