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Johannsen T, Wang C, Broderick AE, Doeleman SS, Fish VL, Loeb A, Psaltis D. Testing General Relativity with Accretion-Flow Imaging of Sgr A^{*}. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2016; 117:091101. [PMID: 27610837 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.117.091101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The Event Horizon Telescope is a global, very long baseline interferometer capable of probing potential deviations from the Kerr metric, which is believed to provide the unique description of astrophysical black holes. Here, we report an updated constraint on the quadrupolar deviation of Sagittarius A^{*} within the context of a radiatively inefficient accretion flow model in a quasi-Kerr background. We also simulate near-future constraints obtainable by the forthcoming eight-station array and show that in this model already a one-day observation can measure the spin magnitude to within 0.005, the inclination to within 0.09°, the position angle to within 0.04°, and the quadrupolar deviation to within 0.005 at 3σ confidence. Thus, we are entering an era of high-precision strong gravity measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Johannsen
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
- Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H8, Canada
| | - Carlos Wang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Avery E Broderick
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Sheperd S Doeleman
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Vincent L Fish
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
| | - Abraham Loeb
- Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Dimitrios Psaltis
- Astronomy Department, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
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Johannsen T, Broderick AE, Plewa PM, Chatzopoulos S, Doeleman SS, Eisenhauer F, Fish VL, Genzel R, Gerhard O, Johnson MD. Testing General Relativity with the Shadow Size of Sgr A(*). PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2016; 116:031101. [PMID: 26849580 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.116.031101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In general relativity, the angular radius of the shadow of a black hole is primarily determined by its mass-to-distance ratio and depends only weakly on its spin and inclination. If general relativity is violated, however, the shadow size may also depend strongly on parametric deviations from the Kerr metric. Based on a reconstructed image of Sagittarius A^{*} (Sgr A^{*}) from a simulated one-day observing run of a seven-station Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) array, we employ a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to demonstrate that such an observation can measure the angular radius of the shadow of Sgr A^{*} with an uncertainty of ∼1.5 μas (6%). We show that existing mass and distance measurements can be improved significantly when combined with upcoming EHT measurements of the shadow size and that tight constraints on potential deviations from the Kerr metric can be obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Johannsen
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Avery E Broderick
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Philipp M Plewa
- Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, 85741 Garching, Germany
| | | | - Sheperd S Doeleman
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Frank Eisenhauer
- Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, 85741 Garching, Germany
| | - Vincent L Fish
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
| | - Reinhard Genzel
- Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, 85741 Garching, Germany
- Physics and Astronomy Departments, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Ortwin Gerhard
- Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, 85741 Garching, Germany
| | - Michael D Johnson
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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8
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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, SooHoo J, Tilanus RPJ, Titus M, Vertatschitsch L, Weintroub J, Wright M, Young KH, Zensus JA, Ziurys LM. Resolved magnetic-field structure and variability near the event horizon of Sagittarius A*. Science 2015; 350:1242-5. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aac7087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 152] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D. Johnson
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Vincent L. Fish
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Sheperd S. Doeleman
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Daniel P. Marrone
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
| | - Richard L. Plambeck
- Department of Astronomy, Radio Astronomy Laboratory, 501 Campbell, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - John F. C. Wardle
- Department of Physics MS-057, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-0911
| | - Kazunori Akiyama
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Keiichi Asada
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Post Office Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Christopher Beaudoin
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Lindy Blackburn
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ray Blundell
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Geoffrey C. Bower
- Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA), 645 N. A'ohōkū Pl. Hilo, HI 96720, USA
| | - Christiaan Brinkerink
- Department of Astrophysics/Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University Nijmegen, Post Office Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Avery E. Broderick
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5, Canada
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Roger Cappallo
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Andrew A. Chael
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Geoffrey B. Crew
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Jason Dexter
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Matt Dexter
- Department of Astronomy, Radio Astronomy Laboratory, 501 Campbell, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Robert Freund
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
| | - Per Friberg
- James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, East Asia Observatory, 660 N. A'ohōkū Place, University Park, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
| | - Roman Gold
- Department of Physics, Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland at College Park, Physical Sciences Complex, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Mark A. Gurwell
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Paul T. P. Ho
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Post Office Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Mareki Honma
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Mitaka, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588
| | - Makoto Inoue
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Post Office Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Michael Kosowsky
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
- Department of Physics MS-057, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-0911
| | - Thomas P. Krichbaum
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - James Lamb
- Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, 100 Leighton Lane, Big Pine, CA 93513-0968, USA
| | - Abraham Loeb
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ru-Sen Lu
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - David MacMahon
- Department of Astronomy, Radio Astronomy Laboratory, 501 Campbell, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Jonathan C. McKinney
- Department of Physics, Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland at College Park, Physical Sciences Complex, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - James M. Moran
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ramesh Narayan
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Rurik A. Primiani
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Dimitrios Psaltis
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
| | - Alan E. E. Rogers
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Katherine Rosenfeld
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jason SooHoo
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Remo P. J. Tilanus
- Department of Astrophysics/Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University Nijmegen, Post Office Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Post Office Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Michael Titus
- Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA 01886, USA
| | - Laura Vertatschitsch
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jonathan Weintroub
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Melvyn Wright
- Department of Astronomy, Radio Astronomy Laboratory, 501 Campbell, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Ken H. Young
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - J. Anton Zensus
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Lucy M. Ziurys
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
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