Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗

Michael D. Johnson; Vincent L. Fish; Sheperd S. Doeleman; Daniel P. Marrone; Richard L. Plambeck; John F.C. Wardle; Kazunori Akiyama; Keiichi Asada; Christopher Beaudoin; Lindy Blackburn; Ray Blundell; Geoffrey C. Bower; Christiaan Brinkerink; Avery E. Broderick; Roger Cappallo; Andrew A. Chael; Geoffrey B. Crew; Jason Dexter; Matt Dexter; Robert Freund; Per Friberg; Roman Gold; Mark A. Gurwell; Paul T.P. Ho; Mareki Honma; Makoto Inoue; Michael Kosowsky; Thomas P. Krichbaum; James Lamb; Abraham Loeb; Ru Sen Lu; David MacMahon; Jonathan C. McKinney; James M. Moran; Ramesh Narayan; Rurik A. Primiani; Dimitrios Psaltis; Alan E.E. Rogers; Katherine Rosenfeld; Jason Soo Hoo; Remo P.J. Tilanus; Michael Titus; Laura Vertatschitsch; Jonathan Weintroub; Melvyn Wright; Ken H. Young; J. Anton Zensus; Lucy M. Ziurys

doi:10.1126/science.aac7087

Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗

Michael D. Johnson, Vincent L. Fish, Sheperd S. Doeleman, Daniel P. Marrone, Richard L. Plambeck, John F.C. Wardle, Kazunori Akiyama, Keiichi Asada, Christopher Beaudoin, Lindy Blackburn, Ray Blundell, Geoffrey C. Bower, Christiaan Brinkerink, Avery E. Broderick, Roger Cappallo, Andrew A. Chael, Geoffrey B. Crew, Jason Dexter, Matt Dexter, Robert FreundPer Friberg, Roman Gold, Mark A. Gurwell, Paul T.P. Ho, Mareki Honma, Makoto Inoue, Michael Kosowsky, Thomas P. Krichbaum, James Lamb, Abraham Loeb, Ru Sen Lu, David MacMahon, Jonathan C. McKinney, James M. Moran, Ramesh Narayan, Rurik A. Primiani, Dimitrios Psaltis, Alan E.E. Rogers, Katherine Rosenfeld, Jason Soo Hoo, Remo P.J. Tilanus, Michael Titus, Laura Vertatschitsch, Jonathan Weintroub, Melvyn Wright, Ken H. Young, J. Anton Zensus, Lucy M. Ziurys

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Abstract

Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure.We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A∗We have found evidence for partially ordered magnetic fields near the event horizon, on scales of ∼6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intrahour variability associated with these fields.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1242-1245
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	350
Issue number	6265
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7087
State	Published - Dec 4 2015

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Johnson, M. D., Fish, V. L., Doeleman, S. S., Marrone, D. P., Plambeck, R. L., Wardle, J. F. C., Akiyama, K., Asada, K., Beaudoin, C., Blackburn, L., Blundell, R., Bower, G. C., Brinkerink, C., Broderick, A. E., Cappallo, R., Chael, A. A., Crew, G. B., Dexter, J., Dexter, M., ... Ziurys, L. M. (2015). Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗. Science, 350(6265), 1242-1245. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7087

Johnson, MD, Fish, VL, Doeleman, SS, Marrone, DP, Plambeck, RL, Wardle, JFC, Akiyama, K, Asada, K, Beaudoin, C, Blackburn, L, Blundell, R, Bower, GC, Brinkerink, C, Broderick, AE, Cappallo, R, Chael, AA, Crew, GB, Dexter, J, Dexter, M, Freund, R, Friberg, P, Gold, R, Gurwell, MA, Ho, PTP, Honma, M, Inoue, M, Kosowsky, M, Krichbaum, TP, Lamb, J, Loeb, A, Lu, RS, MacMahon, D, McKinney, JC, Moran, JM, Narayan, R, Primiani, RA, Psaltis, D, Rogers, AEE, Rosenfeld, K, Hoo, JS, Tilanus, RPJ, Titus, M, Vertatschitsch, L, Weintroub, J, Wright, M, Young, KH, Zensus, JA & Ziurys, LM 2015, 'Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗', Science, vol. 350, no. 6265, pp. 1242-1245. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7087

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title = "Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗",

abstract = "Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure.We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A∗We have found evidence for partially ordered magnetic fields near the event horizon, on scales of ∼6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intrahour variability associated with these fields.",

author = "Johnson, {Michael D.} and Fish, {Vincent L.} and Doeleman, {Sheperd S.} and Marrone, {Daniel P.} and Plambeck, {Richard L.} and Wardle, {John F.C.} and Kazunori Akiyama and Keiichi Asada and Christopher Beaudoin and Lindy Blackburn and Ray Blundell and Bower, {Geoffrey C.} and Christiaan Brinkerink and Broderick, {Avery E.} and Roger Cappallo and Chael, {Andrew A.} and Crew, {Geoffrey B.} and Jason Dexter and Matt Dexter and Robert Freund and Per Friberg and Roman Gold and Gurwell, {Mark A.} and Ho, {Paul T.P.} and Mareki Honma and Makoto Inoue and Michael Kosowsky and Krichbaum, {Thomas P.} and James Lamb and Abraham Loeb and Lu, {Ru Sen} and David MacMahon and McKinney, {Jonathan C.} and Moran, {James M.} and Ramesh Narayan and Primiani, {Rurik A.} and Dimitrios Psaltis and Rogers, {Alan E.E.} and Katherine Rosenfeld and Hoo, {Jason Soo} and Tilanus, {Remo P.J.} and Michael Titus and Laura Vertatschitsch and Jonathan Weintroub and Melvyn Wright and Young, {Ken H.} and Zensus, {J. Anton} and Ziurys, {Lucy M.}",

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doi = "10.1126/science.aac7087",

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T1 - Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗

AU - Johnson, Michael D.

AU - Fish, Vincent L.

AU - Doeleman, Sheperd S.

AU - Marrone, Daniel P.

AU - Plambeck, Richard L.

AU - Wardle, John F.C.

AU - Akiyama, Kazunori

AU - Asada, Keiichi

AU - Beaudoin, Christopher

AU - Blackburn, Lindy

AU - Blundell, Ray

AU - Bower, Geoffrey C.

AU - Brinkerink, Christiaan

AU - Broderick, Avery E.

AU - Cappallo, Roger

AU - Chael, Andrew A.

AU - Crew, Geoffrey B.

AU - Dexter, Jason

AU - Dexter, Matt

AU - Freund, Robert

AU - Friberg, Per

AU - Gold, Roman

AU - Gurwell, Mark A.

AU - Ho, Paul T.P.

AU - Honma, Mareki

AU - Inoue, Makoto

AU - Kosowsky, Michael

AU - Krichbaum, Thomas P.

AU - Lamb, James

AU - Loeb, Abraham

AU - Lu, Ru Sen

AU - MacMahon, David

AU - McKinney, Jonathan C.

AU - Moran, James M.

AU - Narayan, Ramesh

AU - Primiani, Rurik A.

AU - Psaltis, Dimitrios

AU - Rogers, Alan E.E.

AU - Rosenfeld, Katherine

AU - Hoo, Jason Soo

AU - Tilanus, Remo P.J.

AU - Titus, Michael

AU - Vertatschitsch, Laura

AU - Weintroub, Jonathan

AU - Wright, Melvyn

AU - Young, Ken H.

AU - Zensus, J. Anton

AU - Ziurys, Lucy M.

PY - 2015/12/4

Y1 - 2015/12/4

N2 - Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure.We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A∗We have found evidence for partially ordered magnetic fields near the event horizon, on scales of ∼6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intrahour variability associated with these fields.

AB - Near a black hole, differential rotation of a magnetized accretion disk is thought to produce an instability that amplifies weak magnetic fields, driving accretion and outflow. These magnetic fields would naturally give rise to the observed synchrotron emission in galaxy cores and to the formation of relativistic jets, but no observations to date have been able to resolve the expected horizon-scale magnetic-field structure.We report interferometric observations at 1.3-millimeter wavelength that spatially resolve the linearly polarized emission from the Galactic Center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A∗We have found evidence for partially ordered magnetic fields near the event horizon, on scales of ∼6 Schwarzschild radii, and we have detected and localized the intrahour variability associated with these fields.

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DO - 10.1126/science.aac7087

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VL - 350

SP - 1242

EP - 1245

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6265

ER -

Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A∗

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