M87's Powerful Jet Unleashes Rare Gamma-Ray Outburst

Overview

The international multi-instrument Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHT) reveals new observations of a spectacular gamma-ray flare from the powerful relativistic jet emanating from the center of the M87 galaxy at multiple wavelengths, potentially leading to a better understanding of how and where particles are accelerated in these kinds of jets.

Also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, M87 is the brightest object in the Virgo cluster of galaxies, the largest gravitationally bound type of structure in the universe. It came to fame in April 2019 after scientists from EHT released the first image of a black hole in its center. Led by the EHT multi wavelength working group, a study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Journal presents the data from the second EHT observational campaign conducted in April 2018, involving over 25 terrestrial and orbital telescopes. The authors report the first observation of a high-energy gamma-ray flare in over a decade from the supermassive black hole M87, based on nearly simultaneous spectra of the galaxy spanning the broadest wavelength range ever collected. For more information, please refer to the Press Release from the EHT-Japan. (December 13, 2024)



Figure 1:Light curve of the gamma-ray flare (bottom) and collection of quasi-simulated images of the M87 jet (top) at various scales obtained in radio and X-ray during the 2018 campaign. The instrument, the wavelength observation range and scale are shown at the top left of each image. Credits: EHT Collaboration, Fermi-LAT Collaboration, H.E.S.S. Collaboration, MAGIC Collaboration, VERITAS Collaboration, EAVN Collaboration
Download: [JPG (130.85 KB)]

The team also compared the observed broadband multi-wavelength spectra with theoretical emission models. "The flare in 2018 exhibited particularly strong brightening in gamma rays. It is possible that ultra-high-energy particles underwent additional acceleration within the same emission region observed in quiet states, or that new acceleration occurred in a different emission region." says Tomohisa Kawashima at the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, who performed a simulation using a supercomputer "ATERUI II" installed at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Publication Information

Title: "Broadband Multi-wavelength Properties of M87 During the 2018 Event Horizon Telescope Campaign including a Very-High-Energy Gamma-ray Episode"
Authors: EHT Multi-wavelength Science Working Group, EHT Collaboration, Fermi-LAT Collaboration, H.E.S.S. Collaboration, MAGIC Collaboration, VERITAS Collaboration, EAVN Collaboration
Journal: Astronomy and Astrophysics
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202450497

Supercomputer used in this research

ATERUI II at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) was used to develop the code for the simulations performed by the research team. ATERUI II is operated at NAOJ Mizusawa Campus (Oshu, Iwate) with a theoretical peak performance of 3.087 Pflops. (Image Credit: NAOJ)

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