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Abstract We propose an analytic dual-cone accretion model for horizon-scale images of the cores of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, including those observed by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Our model is of synchrotron emission from an axisymmetric, magnetized plasma, constrained to flow within two oppositely oriented cones that are aligned with the black hole’s spin axis. We show this model can accurately reproduce images of a variety of time-averaged general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations and that it accurately recovers the black hole spin, orientation, emission scale height, peak emission radius, and fluid flow direction from these simulations within a Bayesian inference framework using radio interferometric data. We show that nontrivial topologies in the images of relativistic accretion flows around black holes can result in nontrivial multimodal solutions when applied to observations with a sparse array, such as the EHT 2017 observations of M87*. The presence of these degeneracies underscores the importance of employing Bayesian techniques to adequately sample the posterior space for the interpretation of EHT measurements. We fit our model to the EHT observations of M87* and find a 95% highest posterior density interval for the mass-to-distance ratio ofθ_g∈ (2.84, 3.75)μas, and give an inclination ofθ_o∈ (11°, 24°). These new measurements are consistent with mass measurements from the EHT and stellar dynamical estimates and with the spin axis inclination inferred from properties of the M87* jet. 

General relativity predicts that images of optically thin accretion flows around black holes should generically have a “photon ring”, composed of a series of increasingly sharp subrings that correspond to increasingly strongly lensed emission near the black hole. Because the effects of lensing are determined by the spacetime curvature, the photon ring provides a pathway to precise measurements of the black hole properties and tests of the Kerr metric. We explore the prospects for detecting and measuring the photon ring using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and the next-generation EHT (ngEHT). We present a series of tests using idealized self-fits to simple geometrical models and show that the EHT observations in 2017 and 2022 lack the angular resolution and sensitivity to detect the photon ring, while the improved coverage and angular resolution of ngEHT at 230 GHz and 345 GHz is sufficient for these models. We then analyze detection prospects using more realistic images from general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations by applying “hybrid imaging”, which simultaneously models two components: a flexible raster image (to capture the direct emission) and a ring component. Using the Bayesian VLBI modeling package Comrade.jl, we show that the results of hybrid imaging must be interpreted with extreme caution for both photon ring detection and measurement—hybrid imaging readily produces false positives for a photon ring, and its ring measurements do not directly correspond to the properties of the photon ring. 

Abstract The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has produced images of two supermassive black holes, Messier 87* (M 87*) and Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). The EHT collaboration used these images to indirectly constrain black hole parameters by calibrating measurements of the sky-plane emission morphology to images of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations. Here, we develop a model for directly constraining the black hole mass, spin, and inclination through signatures of lensing, redshift, and frame dragging, while simultaneously marginalizing over the unknown accretion and emission properties. By assuming optically thin, axisymmetric, equatorial emission near the black hole, our model gains orders of magnitude in speed over similar approaches that require radiative transfer. Using 2017 EHT M 87* baseline coverage, we use fits of the model to itself to show that the data are insufficient to demonstrate existence of the photon ring. We then survey time-averaged GRMHD simulations fitting EHT-like data, and find that our model is best-suited to fitting magnetically arrested disks, which are the favored class of simulations for both M 87* and Sgr A*. For these simulations, the best-fit model parameters are within ∼10% of the true mass and within ∼10° for inclination. With 2017 EHT coverage and 1% fractional uncertainty on amplitudes, spin is unconstrained. Accurate inference of spin axis position angle depends strongly on spin and electron temperature. Our results show the promise of directly constraining black hole spacetimes with interferometric data, but they also show that nearly identical images permit large differences in black hole properties, highlighting degeneracies between the plasma properties, spacetime, and, most crucially, the unknown emission geometry when studying lensed accretion flow images at a single frequency. 

We report three epochs of polarized images of M87* at 230 GHz using data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) taken in 2017, 2018, and 2021. The baseline coverage of the 2021 observations is significantly improved through the addition of two new EHT stations: the 12 m Kitt Peak Telescope and the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA). All observations result in images dominated by a bright, asymmetric ring with a persistent diameter of 43.9 ± 0.6 μas, consistent with expectations for lensed synchrotron emission encircling the apparent shadow of a supermassive black hole. We find that the total intensity and linear polarization of M87* vary significantly across the three epochs. Specifically, the azimuthal brightness distribution of the total intensity images varies from year to year, as expected for a stochastic accretion flow. However, despite a gamma-ray flare erupting in M87 quasi-contemporaneously to the 2018 observations, the 2018 and 2021 images look remarkably similar. The resolved linear polarization fractions in 2018 and 2021 peak at ∼5%, compared to ∼15% in 2017. The spiral polarization pattern on the ring also varies from year to year, including a change in the electric vector position angle helicity in 2021 that could reflect changes in the magnetized accretion flow or an external Faraday screen. The improved 2021 coverage also provides the first EHT constraints on jet emission outside the ring, on scales of ≲1 mas. Overall, these observations provide strong proof of the reliability of the EHT images and probe the dynamic properties of the horizon-scale accretion flow surrounding M87*. 

Aims.We investigated the polarization and Faraday properties of Messier 87 (M87) and seven other radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) atλ0.87 mm (345 GHz) using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Our goal was to characterize the linear polarization (LP) fractions, measure Faraday rotation measures (RMs), and examine the magnetic field structures in the emission regions of these AGNs. Methods.We conducted full-polarization observations as part of the ALMA Band 7 very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) commissioning during the April 2021 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) campaign. We analyzed the LP fractions and RMs to assess the nature of Faraday screens and magnetic fields in the submillimeter emission regions. Results.We find LP fractions between 1% and 17% and RMs exceeding 10⁵ rad m⁻², which are 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than typically observed at longer wavelengths (λ>3 mm). This suggests denser Faraday screens or stronger magnetic fields. Additionally, we present the first submillimeter polarized images of the M87 jet and the observed AGNs, revealing RM gradients and sign reversals in the M87 jet indicative of a kiloparsec-scale helical magnetic field structure. Conclusions.Our results provide essential constraints for calibrating, analyzing, and interpreting VLBI data from the EHT at 345 GHz, representing a critical step toward submillimeter VLBI imaging. 

We investigate the origin of the elliptical ring structure observed in the images of the supermassive black hole M87^*, aiming to disentangle contributions from gravitational, astrophysical, and imaging effects. Leveraging the enhanced capabilities of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)'s 2018 array, including improved (u,v)-coverage from the Greenland Telescope, we measured the ring's ellipticity using five independent imaging methods, obtaining a consistent average value ofτ = 0.08_−0.02^+0.03with a position angle ofξ = 50.1_−7.6^+6.2 degrees. To interpret this measurement, we compared it to general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations spanning a wide range of physical parameters including the thermal or nonthermal electron distribution function, spins, and ion-to-electron temperature ratios in both low- and high-density regions. We find no statistically significant correlation between spin and ellipticity in GRMHD images. Instead, we identify a correlation between ellipticity and the fraction of non-ring emission, particularly in nonthermal models and models with higher jet emission. These results indicate that the ellipticity measured from the M87^*emission structure is consistent with that expected from simulations of turbulent accretion flows around black holes, where it is dominated by astrophysical effects rather than gravitational ones. Future high-resolution imaging, including space very long baseline interferometry and long-term monitoring, will be essential to isolate gravitational signatures from astrophysical effects. 

Context.The 2017 observing campaign of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) delivered the first very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) images at the observing frequency of 230 GHz, leading to a number of unique studies on black holes and relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei (AGN). In total, eighteen sources were observed, including the main science targets, Sgr A* and M 87, and various calibrators. Sixteen sources were AGN. Aims.We investigated the morphology of the sixteen AGN in the EHT 2017 data set, focusing on the properties of the VLBI cores: size, flux density, and brightness temperature. We studied their dependence on the observing frequency in order to compare it with the Blandford-Königl (BK) jet model. In particular, we aimed to study the signatures of jet acceleration and magnetic energy conversion. Methods.We modeled the source structure of seven AGN in the EHT 2017 data set using linearly polarized circular Gaussian components (1749+096, 1055+018, BL Lac, J0132–1654, J0006–0623, CTA 102, and 3C 454.3) and collected results for the other nine AGN from dedicated EHT publications, complemented by lower frequency data in the 2–86 GHz range. Combining these data into a multifrequency EHT+ data set, we studied the dependences of the VLBI core component flux density, size, and brightness temperature on the frequency measured in the AGN host frame (and hence on the distance from the central black hole), characterizing them with power law fits. We compared the observations with the BK jet model and estimated the magnetic field strength dependence on the distance from the central black hole. Results.Our observations spanning event horizon to parsec scales indicate a deviation from the standard BK model, particularly in the decrease of the brightness temperature with the observing frequency. Only some of the discrepancies may be alleviated by tweaking the model parameters or the jet collimation profile. Either bulk acceleration of the jet material, energy transfer from the magnetic field to the particles, or both are required to explain the observations. For our sample, we estimate a general radial dependence of the Doppler factorδ ∝ r^≤0.5. This interpretation is consistent with a magnetically accelerated sub-parsec jet. We also estimate a steep decrease of the magnetic field strength with radiusB ∝ r⁻³, hinting at jet acceleration or efficient magnetic energy dissipation. 

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observation of M87^∗in 2018 has revealed a ring with a diameter that is consistent with the 2017 observation. The brightest part of the ring is shifted to the southwest from the southeast. In this paper, we provide theoretical interpretations for the multi-epoch EHT observations for M87^∗by comparing a new general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics model image library with the EHT observations for M87^∗in both 2017 and 2018. The model images include aligned and tilted accretion with parameterized thermal and nonthermal synchrotron emission properties. The 2018 observation again shows that the spin vector of the M87^∗supermassive black hole is pointed away from Earth. A shift of the brightest part of the ring during the multi-epoch observations can naturally be explained by the turbulent nature of black hole accretion, which is supported by the fact that the more turbulent retrograde models can explain the multi-epoch observations better than the prograde models. The EHT data are inconsistent with the tilted models in our model image library. Assuming that the black hole spin axis and its large-scale jet direction are roughly aligned, we expect the brightest part of the ring to be most commonly observed 90 deg clockwise from the forward jet. This prediction can be statistically tested through future observations.