Paper detail

Spin of the M87 black hole

Spin measurement of the 6.5 billion solar mass black hole in M87 from the Event Horizon Telescope image is the latest in a series that span a wide range in values, but that tend to share the feature of co-rotation between the accretion flow and black hole. The spin paradigm for black holes predicts very high black hole spin which in that framework was produced in its last significant merger. High black hole spin appears to be ruled out in the gap paradigm, however, which predicts early formation with a mass already in excess of 4 billion solar masses. In this picture, the black hole experienced slow evolution as it departed from its original radio quasar phase and over billions of years not only failed to double its mass but also fell short of regaining its original high spin, such that it is now compatible with a co-rotating accreting black hole whose dimensionless spin fits best in the range 0.2 < a < 0.5.