Event-horizon-scale structure in the supermassive black hole candidate at the Galactic Centre
Abstract
The cores of most galaxies are thought to harbour supermassive black holes, which power galactic nuclei by converting the gravitational energy of accreting matter into radiation. Sagittarius A* (SgrA*), the compact source of radio, infrared and X-ray emission at the centre of the Milky Way, is the closest example of this phenomenon, with an estimated black hole mass that is 4,000,000 times that of the Sun. A long-standing astronomical goal is to resolve structures in the innermost accretion flow surrounding SgrA*, where strong gravitational fields will distort the appearance of radiation emitted near the black hole. Radio observations at wavelengths of 3.5mm and 7mm have detected intrinsic structure in SgrA*, but the spatial resolution of observations at these wavelengths is limited by interstellar scattering. Here we report observations at a wavelength of 1.3mm that set a size of microarcseconds on the intrinsic diameter of SgrA*. This is less than the expected apparent size of the event horizon of the presumed black hole, suggesting that the bulk of SgrA* emission may not be centred on the black hole, but arises in the surrounding accretion flow.
- Publication:
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Nature
- Pub Date:
- September 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1038/nature07245
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0809.2442
- Bibcode:
- 2008Natur.455...78D
- Keywords:
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- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 12 pages including 2 figures