Research Highlights
Here we show recent research results from the Radio Astronomy/Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry department.
Understanding AGN jets with the TELAMON programme
28 March 2024
A paper published today shows the results obtained by a team led by Florian Eppel, including scientists from the MPIfR and the University of Würzburg, reporting on the first results from the TELAMON program (PI. M. Kadler). The TELAMON programme uses the 100 m Effelsberg telescope to monitor radio spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN), in particular TeV blazars and neutrino-associated AGN. This study focuses on the characterisation of a main sample of TeV-detected blazars. Data from about 2.5 years of observations were analysed, covering frequencies from 14 GHz to 45 GHz. In the pilot phase, 59 TeV-detected blazars in the northern hemisphere were observed. Basic data reduction and calibration procedures were applied to the TELAMON data, and an averaging method was used to compute mean light curves for the sources. The results show that TeV-selected blazars in the sample typically have a flat radio spectrum, with a median spectral index of -0.11. These results are consistent with previous studies of TeV-selected blazars. Compared to the GeV-selected sample, the TELAMON sources have a lower radio flux density, which is consistent with the spectral characteristics of TeV-emitting blazars. The spectral index distribution of the TeV-selected blazar sample is similar to that of the GeV-selected samples. In addition, a strategy for tracking the light curve evolution is presented for future variability and correlation analysis. More details can be found in the publication, appeared today in Astronomy & Astrophysics, here.
Selected media echo and parallel press releases (Sgr A* 2017 EHT polarisation image release)
Parallel Press Releases:
- Event Horizon Telescope: Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
- European Southern Observatory: Astronomers unveil strong magnetic fields spiraling at the edge of Milky Way’s central black hole
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory: Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
English:
- Sky & Telescope, 27 March 2024, Strong Magnetic Fields Swirl Near Milky Way
- Space.com (Robert Lea), 27 March 2024, New view of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way hints at an exciting hidden feature (image)
- Phys.org (Amy C. Oliver), 27mar2024, Astronomers unveil strong magnetic fields spiraling at the edge of Milky Way's central black hole
- Forbes (Jamie Carter), 27mar2024, See The Jaw-Dropping New Image Of The Black Hole At The Heart Of The Milky Way
- Astronomy.com (Mark Zastrow), 27mar2024, The Milky Way’s central black hole could have a hidden jet
- Science News (Adam Mann), 27mar2024, A new image reveals magnetic fields around our galaxy’s central black hole
- New Scientist (Alex Wilkins), 27mar2024, New view of our galaxy's black hole reveals a swirling magnetic field (including YouTube video)
- The Independent (Andrew Gribbin), 27mar2024, Scientists reveal astonishing image of black hole in our galaxy
- EarthSky (Kelly Kizer Whitt), BREAKING! Milky Way’s black hole in new image
- BBC Science Focus (Tom Howarth), 27mar2024, Stunning new image of black hole at centre of our galaxy revealed
- The Irish News (Nina Massey), 27mar 2024, New image shows magnetic fields at edge of Milky Way’s central black hole
- Guardian Series, 27mar2024, New image shows magnetic fields at edge of Milky Way’s central black hole
- Science Alert (Michele Starr), 27mar2024, Magnetic Fingerprints of The Milky Way's Black Hole Revealed in Stunning Image
- idw Online, 27mar2024, Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
- Universe Today (Alan Boyle), 27mar2024, New View Reveals Magnetic Fields Around Our Galaxy’s Giant Black Hole
- Science News (Adam Mann), 27mar2024, A new image reveals magnetic fields around our galaxy’s central black hole
- Business Insider (Morgan McFall-Johnsen), 27mar2024, This new photo of a supermassive black hole is unlike any before, showing powerful magnetic fields spiraling around it
- Science Alert (Michelle Starr), 28mar2024, Magnetic Fingerprints of The Milky Way's Black Hole Revealed in Stunning Image
Spanish:
- Agencia SINC, 27mar2024, Primera imagen en luz polarizada del agujero negro de nuestra galaxia
- El Mundo, 27mar2024, Una nueva imagen del agujero negro de la Vía Láctea desvela potentes campos magnéticos
- Granada Hoy, 27mar2024, El Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía de Granada participa de la primera imagen en luz polarizada del agujero negro
- Ciencia Plus, 27mar2024, Fuertes campos magnéticos rodean el agujero negro central de la galaxia
- InfoBAE, 27mar2024, Una nueva imagen del agujero negro de la Vía Láctea desvela potentes campos magnéticos
- Gizmodo, 27mar2024, Nueva imagen expone el intenso campo magnético del agujero negro supermasivo de la Vía Láctea
- Agencia Efe, 27mar2024, Una nueva imagen del agujero negro de la Vía Láctea desvela potentes campos magnéticos
- Europa Press, 27mar2024, Fuertes campos magnéticos rodean el agujero negro central de la galaxia
- La Brújula Verde (Guillermo Carvajal), 27mar2024, Astrónomos descubren fuertes campos magnéticos en espiral en el borde del agujero negro central de la Vía Láctea
- Wired.com (Jorge Garay), 27mar2024, Nueva foto del agujero negro en el centro de la Vía Láctea revela sus poderosos campos magnéticos
- Deutsche Welle, 28mar2024, Imagen desvela campos magnéticos en espiral en Vía Láctea
- La Voz de Galicia, 28mar2024, El agujero negro de nuestra galaxia genera potentes campos magnéticos
- Radio France International, 28mar2024, Espiral de fuertes campos magnéticos rodea el agujero negro de la Vía Láctea
- Meteored (Zeus Valtierra), 28mar2024, Los misterios magnéticos de Sagitario A*: girando en la espiral del cosmos
- National Geographic en Español, 28mar2024, Sagitario A*: Revelan nuevas imágenes del agujero negro en el corazón de nuestra galaxia
- El Periódico (Pablo Javier Piacente), 29mar2024, Detectan campos magnéticos desconocidos en el agujero negro supermasivo de la Vía Láctea
German press echo here (VLBI Department Highlights German version)
Selected media echo and parallel press releases (Perseus A 2017 EHT image release)
English:
- Robert Lea, Space.com, 03 February 2024 quoting Georgios F. Paraschos, Maciek Wielgus, and J. Anton Zensus: Event Horizon Telescope spies jets erupting from nearby supermassive black hole
Selected media echo and parallel press releases (M87 2018 EHT image release)
Here selected parallel press releases and news & views on the A&A publication of the Messier 87* images by the Event Horizon Telescope from observations in 2018.
English:
- Alex Wilkins, New Scientist, 18 January 2024, quoting Eduardo Ros: New fiery doughnut is our most detailed glimpse of a black hole
- Daniel Clery, Science, 18 January 2024: Nearby galaxy’s giant black hole is real, ‘shadow’ image confirms
- Andrew Griffin, The Independent, 18 January 2024: First ever black hole to be pictured shown in new image
- William Hunter, Daily Mirror, 18 January 2024: Venture inside a 'monster' supermassive black hole: Incredible new image of M87 confirms the enormous void is 'active and feeding
- Adam Mann, Science News, 18 January 2024: Astronomers have snapped a new photo of the black hole in galaxy M87
- Jeremy Gray, PetaPixel, 18 January 2024: This is the Sharpest Black Hole Image Yet
- Ayanna Amadi, Medriva, 18 January 2024: Unveiling the M87 Black Hole: A Higher Resolution Image Reveals More
- Alfredo Carpineti, IFL Science, 18 January 2024: Brand New Image Of First Black Hole To Be Photographed Reveals Moving Shadow
- Camille M. Carlisle, Sky & Telescope, 18 January 2024: The black hole shadow in M87*: one year later
- Nina Massey, The Irish News, 18 January 2024: New image of supermassive M87 galaxy black hole released
- Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 January 2024: 2nd image of 1st black hole ever pictured confirms Einstein's general relativity (photo)
- The Paradise, 06 February 2024: New images from EHT offers evidence of a persistent black hole shadow
- The Spark Chronicles, 06 February 2024: We spent six years processing black hole images to come to one conclusion: Einstein was right
- Amit Malewasr, Tech Explorist, 06 February 2024: New images from EHT offers evidence of a persistent black hole shadow
- Paul Sutter, Astronomy, 06 February 2024: The 2nd photo of the M87 black hole is stunning, and more than a pretty picture
- Tejasri Gururaj, The Hindu, 09 February 2024: Earth-wide telescope confirms black hole shadow is ‘real’
- Morgan Hollis, Nature Astronomy, 15 February 2024: The persistent ring of M87* confirms predictions
- NRAO Press Release, 18 January 2024: New Details of Supermassive Black Hole’s Shadow Revealed
- UNAM Press Release, 18 January 2024: M87* One Year Later: Proof of a persistent black hole shadow
- Aalto Univ. Press Release, 18 January 2024: Scientists reveal new images of a black hole - Proof of a persistent black hole shadow
- IAA-CSIC Press Release, 18 January 2024: M87* One Year Later: Proof of a persistent black hole shadow
- ASIAA Press Release, 18 January 2024: New Images of M87*: Proof of a Persistent Black Hole Shadow
- Joint ALMA Observatory Press Release, 18 January 2024: M87* One Year Later: Proof of a persistent black hole shadow
- Univ. Würzburg Press Release, 19 January 2024: Scientists Reveal a Black Hole Shadow
- Chalmers Univ. Press Release, 18 January 2024: The famous black hole in M 87, one year later
German:
- Sibylle Anderl, Die Zeit, 18 January 2024: Dieser Donut ist wirklich ein Schwarzes Loch
- Justus Maximilian Univ. Würzburg Press Release, 19 January 2024: Neuer Blick zum Schwarzen Loch
- Goethe Univ. Frankfurt Press Release, 18 January 2024: Zweites Bild des Schwarzen Lochs M87*: Alle theoretischen Voraussagen bestätigt
Spanish:
- SINC, 18 January 2024: Nuevas imágenes del agujero negro M87* muestran las variaciones en su anillo
- Dennis Overbye, Infobae & New York Times, 30 January 2024: Nuevas imágenes de un agujero negro confirman la teoría de Einstein
- UNAM Press Release, 18 January 2024: La sombra del agujero negro persiste por al menos un año
Unraveling Blazar Mysteries: TANAMI's First-epoch S Band Images
16 January 2024
A team of astronomers led by the MPIfR PhD candidate Petra Benke presents a new publication on southern radio sources. The study focuses on the multi-wavelength emission from blazars, which are celestial objects that emit radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio to high-energy gamma rays. Recent successes in the study of blazar activity have come from quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength monitoring programs made possible by the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in 2008. The team used VLBI to carry out sensitive, long-term monitoring of a comprehensive sample of gamma-energetic AGN. These observations were made with the Long Baseline Array (LBA) and other radio telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere at 13 cm wavelength (S-band) as part of the TANAMI program. The study presents the first light TANAMI S-band images, highlighting the TeV-detected sub-sample of the full TANAMI sample. The analysis examines the redshift, 0.1-100 GeV photon flux, and S-band core brightness temperature distributions of the TeV-detected objects. In particular, flat-spectrum radio quasars and low-synchrotron-peak sources have on average higher brightness temperatures than high-synchrotron-peak BL Lacs. In addition, sources with bright GeV gamma-ray emission show higher brightness temperatures compared to gamma-low sources. More details of the study can be found in the original paper here (preprint here).