First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
复制标题
DOI：
10.3847/2041-8213/ac6674
复制
发表时间：
2022-05-01
影响因子：
7.9
通讯作者：
Zeballos, Milagros
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Akiyama, Kazunori;Alberdi, Antxon;Zeballos, Milagros
我们提出了第一个事件视界望远镜（EHT）的人马座A*（Sgr A*），银河系中心源与超大质量黑洞的观测。这些观测是在2017年使用一个全球干涉阵列进行的，该阵列由8台波长为λ = 1.3 mm的望远镜组成。EHT数据解决了一个紧凑的发射区域，具有小时内的变化。各种成像和建模分析都支持由直径为51.8 +/- 2.3 μ as（68%可信区间）的明亮厚环主导的图像。该环具有适度的方位亮度不对称性和相对暗淡的内部。使用大量的数值模拟，我们证明了Sgr A* 的EHT图像与质量类似于4 x 10（6）M（圆点）的克尔黑洞的预期外观一致，根据先前对单个恒星轨道的红外观测以及脉泽自行研究，推断该位置存在。我们的模型比较不赞成在高倾角（i > 50度）下观察黑洞的情况，以及非旋转黑洞和具有逆行吸积盘的黑洞。我们的结果为银河系中心存在超大质量黑洞提供了直接证据，并且我们首次将10（3）-10（5）引力半径尺度上恒星轨道的动力学测量预测与事件视界尺度图像和变化联系起来。此外，与超大质量黑洞M87* 的EHT结果的比较表明，与广义相对论的预测一致，中心质量跨越三个数量级。
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 lambda = 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 mu as (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 similar to 4 x 10(6) M (circle dot), 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 degrees), 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 10(3)-10(5) 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.