The Polarized Imaged of a Synchrotron-emitting Ring of Gas Orbiting a Black Hole
Published in The Astrophysical Journal, 2021
Question
How much physics is needed to re-create the polarized image of M87*?
Description
We answer this question with a simple black hole toy model that reproduces the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) image of M87*. The model is of a ring of plasma that surrounds a black hole and emits polarized light. The emisison is lensed by the underlying black hole space time, and is imaged by a far away observer with the resolution of the EHT. This simple model is largely capable of reproducing the image morphology of M87*, and can be used to answer questions about bulk physics properties like the direction of the magnetic field, and predict polarization properties of flares around SgrA*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
