Imaging Black Hole Magnetic Fields with the Event Horizon Telescope
Abstract
The Event Horizon Telescope is a global mm-wavelength Very Long Baseline Interferometry array which, when completed, will achieve a nominal resolution of 20 microarcseconds. Initial observations with three stations have detected Schwarzschild-radius-scale structure around the supermassive black holes in SgrA* and M87. Future, fully polarimetric EHT images of the synchrotron emission near supermassive black holes will reveal fine magnetic field structure, potentially illuminating the role of magnetic fields in driving black hole accretion and the connection between magnetic fields, black hole spin, and relativistic jets. I will review techniques for polarimetric VLBI imaging and present new image reconstruction techniques tailored for polarimetric EHT data. Application to synthetic data from simulations shows that the EHT will be able to image changing magnetic field structure on microarcsecond scales. I will also discuss applications to the variable magnetic fields that could power flares in Sgr A*. Finally, I will present initial results from application of these techniques to data from the 2013 EHT observing run.
- Publication:
-
IAU General Assembly
- Pub Date:
- August 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015IAUGA..2258350C