Search Talks

Christiann Brinkerink, Radboud University Nijmegen

What closure phase measurements at 86 GHz can tell us about Sagittarius A*

Thomas Bronzwaer, Radboud University Nijmegen

Predicted VLBI Observables for SMBH's Based on GRMHD Simulations

Alejandro Cardenas-Avendano, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Probing the Regular Nature of the Spacetime by Measuring the Shadow of a Black Hole

Andrew Chael, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Maximum Entropy Polarimetric Imaging

Laura Chajet, York University

AGNs: Line Width Distribution of MHD Disc Winds

Pierre Christian, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

complimentary observations to the EHT for understanding strong gravity

Riley Connors, University of Amsterdam

Jet Physics Across the Black Hole Mass Scale: Sgr A* and A0620-00

Roger Deane, University of Cape Town

Extreme Interferometry with MeqTrees: advanced interferometric simulation and analysis

Salome Dibi, Radboud University Nijmegen

The emission mechanisms from Sgr A*’s inner gravitational radii

Ciriaco Goddi, Radboud University Nijmegen

mm-VLBI in Europe

Svetlana Jorstad, Boston University

Linear Polarization in the Jet of the Quasar 3C279 at near-EHT resolution 

Motoki Kino, Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute

Magnetic field strength at the jet base of M87

Michael Landry, LIGO Hanford Observatory

Advanced LIGO status

Alan Marscher, Boston University

Linear Polarization at 1 mm as a Probe of the "Core" of Blazar Jets

Gisela Ortiz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Testing a 3 mm VLBI system at the Large Millimeter Telescope: Observations of Sgr A*.

Percy Paul, University of Saskatchewan

Gravity Waves in RS models

Hung-Pi Pu, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics

Semi-analytical GRMHD jet model and its Synchrotron Image on Horizon Scale

Angelo Ricarte, Yale University

Probing Strong Gravity and Accretion Physics with the Event Horizon Telescope

Frank Roelofs, Radboud University Nijmegen

imaging Sgr A* through time-variability

Eduard Ros, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy

Jet formation region of NGC 1052 with mm-VLBI

Fumie Tazaki, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

super-resolution images of M87 with compressed sensing

The radio community pioneered the use of closure phases to allow interferometric imaging even when fringe phases are compromised by atmospheric turbulence or unstable reference clocks. Eventually, better receivers and observing methods allowed phase referencing to provide direct measures of complex visibilities and eased the uncertainties using Fourier inversions required for imaging. At the same time, optical and infrared (O/IR) interferometers have been developed recently that can combine up to 6 telescopes simultaneously, at which point the inadequacies of classic imaging methods such as CLEAN were apparent. Here I report on dramatic progress within the O/IR interferometry to develop new image reconstruction techniques taking advantage of advances in ``compressed sensing'' theory and new approaches afforded by modern computing. Because the Event Horizon Telescope must rely on closure phases instead of direct Fourier phases, the new algorithms from the O/IR could be essential to extracting the most information from EHT observations and we demonstrate promising results using simulated EHT data.

The Event Horizon Telescope has measured compact emission in Sgr A* and M87 at resolutions comparable to their event horizons. Polarimetry with the EHT enables a powerful extension of this work, mapping magnetic field structures via the highly polarized synchrotron emission that is thought to dominate the compact emission. Sgr A* provides an especially attractive target for linear polarization studies with the EHT because it is unpolarized at the longer wavelengths where facility instruments are available. I will report on polarimetric results from our 2013 campaign, which demonstrate a sharp increase in the linear polarization fraction and variability of Sgr A* with increasing baseline. These data allow rich model-independent inferences about the polarization images and morphology and reveal that polarization is a sensitive probe of intrinsic variability.

I summarize several physical processes that can produce efficient particle acceleration in radiatively inefficient accretion flows. I then describe the implications for non-thermal emission and EHT observations of Sgr A*.

Long wavelength measurements provide sensitive probes of the intrinsic structure of Sgr A* and of the scattering properties of the line-of-sight interstellar medium. At this wavelength, scattering dominates the apparent size of the source but careful closure amplitude techniques can provide highly accurate structural information. We present new results from the VLBA at 7mm wavelength that for the first time reveal two-dimensional intrinsic structure while also demonstrating the stability of the intrinsic size during periods of significant activity at NIR and X-ray wavelengths. These results also demonstrate the stability of the scattering medium over time. New observations of the Galactic Center pulsar PSR J1745-2900 show that the scattering properties of Sgr A* are spatially coherent over an angular scale of at least a few arc seconds. Analysis of the angular and temporal broadening data for the pulsar place the scattering medium at a distance of kiloparsecs away from the Galactic Center, resolving a significant mystery regarding the scattering medium.

Sgr A* is one of the few black holes whose capture radius is just resolvable with the <0.5” spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Motivated by this potential we proposed for the deepest ever view of our Galactic center in 2012, via a Chandra-HETGS “X-ray Visionary Project”. Involving over 60 members of the Galactic center community, we obtained ~35 days of observations within a single year, for the first time also using the spectral gratings. This campaign doubled the photon count compared to the 12 years of observations before, and involved simultaneous observations from radio through gamma-ray frequencies. We are still analyzing these data sets, in combination with ongoing monitoring campaigns since, which together provide key constraints for the modeling of Sgr A* and environs necessary for the Event Horizon Telescope. I will present the highlights of this campaign so far, with a focus on results that can alter/define our ideas about the accretion geometry and plasma conditions near the black hole.

Over the last 20 years, advances in high angular resolution imaging technology has enabled the motions of individual stars to be tracked at the Galactic Center. This has provided the best evidence to date not only for the presence of a supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, but for the existence of black holes in general. These high resolution measurements have also revealed an environment surrounding the black hole that is quite unexpected in a number of ways, challenging our understanding of the physical processes between black holes and their surround stars and gas. As the only galactic nucleus in which individual stellar orbits can be measured, the Galactic Center is now offering new insights into the fundamental physics of black holes, with unique tests of Einstein's theory of General Relativity on the horizon, and the astrophysics processes between black holes and their host galaxies that are thought to shape the co-evolution of central black holes and their host galaxies. I will review the work done by the UCLA Galactic Center Group and others on measuring stellar orbits, with an emphasis on (1) our recent model for G2 as a binary star that has been driven to merge through three-body interactions with the central black hole, (2) precision measurements of the distance to the black hole (R0), which is a fundamental constant for many astrophysical studies (e.g., galactic structure), and the mass of the black hole (Mbh), which as a ratio with R0 (Mbh/R0) is a key ingredient for interpreting future EHT measurements of the black hole's shadow, and (3) upcoming tests of General Relativity that are within reach through precision measurements of stellar orbits.