Paper detail

An accretion-jet model for M87: interpreting the spectral energy distribution and Faraday rotation measure

M87 is arguably the best supermassive black hole (BH) to explore the jet and/or accretion physics due to its proximity and fruitful high-resolution multi-waveband observations. We model the multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) of M87 core that observed at a scale of 0.4 arcsec ($\sim 10^5R_{\rm g}$, $R_{\rm g}$ is gravitational radius) as recently presented by Prieto et al. Similar to Sgr A*, we find that the millimeter bump as observed by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) can be modeled by the synchrotron emission of the thermal electrons in advection dominated accretion flow (ADAF), while the low-frequency radio emission and X-ray emission may dominantly come from the jet. The millimeter radiation from ADAF dominantly come from the region within $10R_{\rm g}$, which is roughly consistent with the recent very long baseline interferometry observations at 230\,GHz. We further calculate the Faraday rotation measure (RM) from both ADAF and jet models, and find that the RM predicted from the ADAF is roughly consistent with the measured value while the RM predicted from the jet is much higher if jet velocity close to the BH is low or moderate (e.g., $v_{\rm jet}\lesssim0.6\,c$). With the constraints from the SED modeling and RM, we find that the accretion rate close to the BH horizon is $\sim (0.2-1)\times10^{-3}{M}_{\odot} \rm yr^{-1}\ll\dot{\it M}_{\rm B}\sim 0.2\it {M}_{\odot} \rm yr^{-1}$ ($\dot{M}_{\rm B}$ is Bondi accretion rate), where the electron density profile, $n_{\rm e}\propto r^{\sim -1}$, in the accretion flow is consistent with that determined from X-ray observation inside the Bondi radius and recent numerical simulations.

preprint2016arXivOpen access

Signal facts

What is known right now

Open access3 authors1 topic

Next steps

Decide what to do with this paper

Use like or dislike for the fast social read. The more specific scholarly feedback stays available below when needed.

Log in to curate

Reading frame

Keep the important context close to the paper

Keep the important signals around this paper in one place: votes, save state, collection context, reviews and the metadata you need before deciding what to do next.

Institutions

Add specific reaction

Move through the context

Research map

Open full explorer

Move through nearby people, institutions, topics and adjacent work without leaving the paper page.

Building this map preview

BZPEER is loading the nearby papers, people, topics and institutions for this page.

Structured reviews

0 review(s)

ContributeLeave structured feedbackUse the review template when you have a concrete strength, concern or method question.Open review form

No structured reviews yet. High-signal critique starts here.

Work discussion

0 comment(s)

DiscussAdd a high-signal commentKeep quick notes, caveats and replication pointers separate from formal reviews.Open comment form

No discussion yet. The first strong comment sets the tone.