Abstract
In this paper we present DMC, a model and associated tool for polarimetric imaging of very long baseline interferometry data sets that simultaneously reconstructs the full-Stokes emission ...structure along with the station-based gain and leakage calibration terms. DMC formulates the imaging problem in terms of posterior exploration, which is achieved using Hamiltonian Monte Carlo sampling. The resulting posterior distribution provides a natural quantification of uncertainty in both the image structure and the data calibration. We run DMC on both synthetic and real data sets, the results of which demonstrate its ability to accurately recover both the image structure and calibration quantities, as well as to assess their corresponding uncertainties. The framework underpinning DMC is flexible, and its specific implementation is under continued development.
Abstract
Closure phases and closure amplitudes have proven critical to modern radio interferometry due to their insensitivity to the uncertain station gains. We present the first set of closure ...quantities constructed from parallel-hand and cross-hand visibilities that are insensitive to both station gains and to polarimetric leakage. These complex “closure traces” are a natural extension of closure amplitudes and closure phases, are independent of all station-based linear corruptions of the polarized visibilities, and are complete in the sense that they contain all remaining information present in the visibility data. Products of closure traces on so-called “conjugate” quadrangles are sensitive only to structure in the source polarization fraction—independent of variations in the Stokes
I
structure—and thereby provide unambiguous probes of polarization in astronomical sources.
Closure Statistics in Interferometric Data Blackburn, Lindy; Pesce, Dominic W.; Johnson, Michael D. ...
Astrophysical journal/The Astrophysical journal,
05/2020, Letnik:
894, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Interferometric visibilities, reflecting the complex correlations between signals recorded at antennas in an interferometric array, carry information about the angular structure of a distant source. ...While unknown antenna gains in both amplitude and phase can prevent direct interpretation of these measurements, certain combinations of visibilities called closure phases and closure amplitudes are independent of antenna gains and provide a convenient set of robust observables. However, these closure quantities have subtle noise properties and are generally both linearly and statistically dependent. These complications have obstructed the proper use of closure quantities in interferometric analysis, and they have obscured the relationship between analysis with closure quantities and other analysis techniques such as self calibration. We review the statistics of closure quantities, noting common pitfalls that arise when approaching low signal to noise due to the nonlinear propagation of statistical errors. We then develop a strategy for isolating and fitting to the independent degrees of freedom captured by the closure quantities through explicit construction of linearly independent sets of quantities along with their noise covariance in the Gaussian limit, valid for moderate signal to noise, and we demonstrate that model fits have biased posteriors when this covariance is ignored. Finally, we introduce a unified procedure for fitting to both closure information and partially calibrated visibilities, and we demonstrate both analytically and numerically the direct equivalence of inference based on closure quantities to that based on self calibration of complex visibilities with unconstrained antenna gains.
Abstract
The direct detection of a bright, ring-like structure in horizon-resolving images of M87* by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a striking validation of general relativity. The angular ...size and shape of the ring is a degenerate measure of the location of the emission region, mass, and spin of the black hole. However, we show that the observation of multiple rings, corresponding to the low-order photon rings, can break this degeneracy and produce mass and spin measurements independent of the shape of the rings. We describe two potential experiments that would measure the spin. In the first, observations of the direct emission and
n
= 1 photon ring are made at multiple epochs with different emission locations. This method is conceptually similar to spacetime constraints that arise from variable structures (or hot spots) in that it breaks the near-perfect degeneracy between emission location, mass, and spin for polar observers using temporal variability. In the second, observations of the direct emission and
n
= 1 and
n
= 2 photon rings are made during a single epoch. For both schemes, additional observations comprise a test of general relativity. Thus, comparisons of EHT observations in 2017 and 2018 may be capable of producing the first horizon-scale spin estimates of M87* inferred from strong lensing alone. Additional observation campaigns from future high-frequency, Earth-sized, and space-based radio interferometers can produce high-precision tests of general relativity.
Abstract
We present the results of an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array survey to identify 183 GHz H
2
O maser emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) already known to host 22 GHz ...megamaser systems. Out of 20 sources observed, we detect significant 183 GHz maser emission from 13; this survey thus increases the number of AGN known to host (sub)millimeter megamasers by a factor of 5. We find that the 183 GHz emission is systematically fainter than the 22 GHz emission from the same targets, with typical flux densities being roughly an order of magnitude lower at 183 GHz than at 22 GHz. However, the isotropic luminosities of the detected 183 GHz sources are comparable to their 22 GHz values. For two of our sources—ESO 269-G012 and the Circinus galaxy—we detect rich 183 GHz spectral structure containing multiple line complexes. The 183 GHz spectrum of ESO 269-G012 exhibits the triple-peaked structure characteristic of an edge-on AGN disk system. The Circinus galaxy contains the strongest 183 GHz emission detected in our sample, peaking at a flux density of nearly 5 Jy. The high signal-to-noise ratios achieved by these strong lines enable a coarse mapping of the 183 GHz maser system, in which the masers appear to be distributed similarly to those seen in VLBI maps of the 22 GHz system in the same galaxy and may be tracing the circumnuclear accretion disk at larger orbital radii than the 22 GHz masers. This newly identified population of AGN disk megamasers presents a motivation for developing VLBI capabilities at 183 GHz.
Abstract
We present estimates for the number of shadow-resolved supermassive black hole (SMBH) systems that can be detected using radio interferometers, as a function of angular resolution, flux ...density sensitivity, and observing frequency. Accounting for the distribution of SMBHs across mass, redshift, and accretion rate, we use a new semianalytic spectral energy distribution model to derive the number of SMBHs with detectable and optically thin horizon-scale emission. We demonstrate that (sub)millimeter interferometric observations with ∼0.1
μ
as resolution and ∼1
μ
Jy sensitivity could access >10
6
SMBH shadows. We then further decompose the shadow source counts into the number of black holes for which we could expect to observe the first- and second-order lensed photon rings. Accessing the bulk population of first-order photon rings requires ≲2
μ
as resolution and ≲0.5 mJy sensitivity, whereas doing the same for second-order photon rings requires ≲0.1
μ
as resolution and ≲5
μ
Jy sensitivity. Our model predicts that with modest improvements to sensitivity, as many as ∼5 additional horizon-resolved sources should become accessible to the current Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), whereas a next-generation EHT observing at 345 GHz should have access to ∼3 times as many sources. More generally, our results can help guide enhancements of current arrays and specifications for future interferometric experiments that aim to spatially resolve a large population of SMBH shadows or higher-order photon rings.
Generating images from very long baseline interferometric observations poses a difficult, and generally not unique, inversion problem. This problem is simplified by the introduction of constraints, ...some generic (e.g., positivity of the intensity) and others motivated by physical considerations (e.g., smoothness, instrument resolution). It is further complicated by the need to simultaneously address instrumental systematic uncertainties and sparse coverage in the u-v plane. We report a new Bayesian image reconstruction technique in the parameter estimation framework Themis that has been developed for the Event Horizon Telescope. This has two key features: first, the full Bayesian treatment of the image reconstruction makes it possible to generate a full posterior for the images, permitting a rigorous and quantitative investigation into the statistical significance of image features. Second, it is possible to seamlessly incorporate directly modeled features simultaneously with image reconstruction. We demonstrate this second capability by incorporating a narrow, slashed ring in reconstructions of simulated M87 data in an attempt to detect and characterize the photon ring. We show that it is possible to obtain high-fidelity photon ring sizes, enabling mass measurements with accuracies of 2%-5% that are essentially insensitive to astrophysical uncertainties, and creating opportunities for precision tests of general relativity.
The Event Horizon Telescope image of the supermassive black hole in the galaxy M87 is dominated by a bright, unresolved ring. General relativity predicts that embedded within this image lies a thin ..."photon ring," which is composed of an infinite sequence of self-similar subrings that are indexed by the number of photon orbits around the black hole. The subrings approach the edge of the black hole "shadow," becoming exponentially narrower but weaker with increasing orbit number, with seemingly negligible contributions from high-order subrings. Here, we show that these subrings produce strong and universal signatures on long interferometric baselines. These signatures offer the possibility of precise measurements of black hole mass and spin, as well as tests of general relativity, using only a sparse interferometric array.
A black hole embedded within a bright, optically thin emitting region imprints a nearly circular "shadow" on its image, corresponding to the observer's line of sight into the black hole. The shadow ...boundary depends on the black hole's mass and spin, providing an observable signature of both properties via high-resolution images. However, standard expressions for the shadow boundary are most naturally parametrized by Boyer-Lindquist radii rather than by image coordinates. We explore simple, approximate parameterizations for the shadow boundary using ellipses and a family of curves known as limaçons. We demonstrate that these curves provide excellent and efficient approximations for all black hole spins and inclinations. In particular, we show that the two parameters of the limaçon naturally account for the three primary shadow deformations resulting from mass and spin: size, displacement, and asymmetry. These curves are convenient for parametric model fitting directly to interferometric data, they reveal the degeneracies expected when estimating black hole properties from images with practical measurement limitations, and they provide a natural framework for parametric tests of the Kerr metric using black hole images.
The Photon Ring in M87 Broderick, Avery E.; Pesce, Dominic W.; Gold, Roman ...
Astrophysical journal/The Astrophysical journal,
08/2022, Letnik:
935, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
We report measurements of the gravitationally lensed secondary image—the first in an infinite series of so-called “photon rings”—around the supermassive black hole M87* via simultaneous ...modeling and imaging of the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations. The inferred ring size remains constant across the seven days of the 2017 EHT observing campaign and is consistent with theoretical expectations, providing clear evidence that such measurements probe spacetime and a striking confirmation of the models underlying the first set of EHT results. The residual diffuse emission evolves on timescales comparable to one week. We are able to detect with high significance a southwestern extension consistent with that expected from the base of a jet that is rapidly rotating in the clockwise direction. This result adds further support to the identification of the jet in M87* with a black hole spin-driven outflow, launched via the Blandford–Znajek process. We present three revised estimates for the mass of M87* based on identifying the modeled thin ring component with the bright ringlike features seen in simulated images, one of which is only weakly sensitive to the astrophysics of the emission region. All three estimates agree with each other and previously reported values. Our strongest mass constraint combines information from both the ring and the diffuse emission region, which together imply a mass-to-distance ratio of
4.20
−
0.06
+
0.12
μ
as
and a corresponding black hole mass of (7.13 ± 0.39) × 10
9
M
⊙
, where the error on the latter is now dominated by the systematic uncertainty arising from the uncertain distance to M87*.
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