Relative depolarization of the black hole photon ring in GRMHD models of Sgr A* 
and M87*

Jiménez-Rosales, A.; Dexter, J.; Ressler, S. M.; Tchekhovskoy, A.; Bauböck, M.; Dallilar, Y.; de Zeeuw, P. T.; Drescher, A.; Eisenhauer, F.; Fellenberg, S. von; Gao, F.; Genzel, R.; Gillessen, S.; Habibi, M.; Ott, T.; Stadler, J.; Straub, O.; Widmann, F.

doi:10.1093/mnras/stab784

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Relative depolarization of the black hole photon ring in GRMHD models of Sgr A* and M87*

MPS-Authors

/persons/resource/persons216133

Jiménez-Rosales, A.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons146381

Dexter, J.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons216131

Bauböck, M.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons250315

Dallilar, Y.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons225865

de Zeeuw, P. T.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons254980

Drescher, A.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons4766

Eisenhauer, F.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons206120

Fellenberg, S. von
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons214427

Gao, F.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons4590

Genzel, R.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons4768

Gillessen, S.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons181377

Habibi, M.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons16190

Ott, T.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons248280

Stadler, J.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons232635

Straub, O.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons214431

Widmann, F.
Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy, MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Jiménez-Rosales, A., Dexter, J., Ressler, S. M., Tchekhovskoy, A., Bauböck, M., Dallilar, Y., et al. (2021). Relative depolarization of the black hole photon ring in GRMHD models of Sgr A* and M87*. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 503(3), 4563-4575. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab784.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0009-20B9-2

Abstract

Using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accreting black holes, we show that a suitable subtraction of the linear polarization per pixel from total intensity images can enhance the photon ring feature. We find that the photon ring is typically a factor of ≃2 less polarized than the rest of the image. This is due to a combination of plasma and general relativistic effects, as well as magnetic turbulence. When there are no other persistently depolarized image features, adding the subtracted residuals over time results in a sharp image of the photon ring. We show that the method works well for sample, viable GRMHD models of Sgr A* and M87*, where measurements of the photon ring properties would provide new measurements of black hole mass and spin, and potentially allow for tests of the ‘no-hair’ theorem of general relativity.