First light for GRAVITY Wide

Abuter, R.; Allouche, F.; Amorim, A.; Bailet, C.; Bauböck, M.; Berger, J.‐P.; Bério, Philippe; Bigioli, Azzurra; O., Boebion,; Bolzer, M.; Bonnet, H.; Bourdarot, Guillaume; Bourget, P.; Brandner, W.; Clénet, Y.; Courtney-Barrer, Benjamin; Dallilar, Y.; Davies, R. I.; Defrère, Denis; Delboulbé, A.; Delplancke, F.; Dembet, R.; Zeeuw, P. T. de; Drescher, A.; Eckart, A.; C., Édouard,; Eisenhauer, F.; Fabricius, Maximilian; Feuchtgruber, H.; Finger, Gert; Schreiber, N. M. Förster; García, E.; Garcia, Paulo J. V.; Gao, F.; Gendron, É.; Genzel, R.; Gil, J. P.; Gillessen, S.; Gomes, T.F.B.; Gonté, Frederic; Gouvret, C.; Guajardo, P.; Guieu, S.; Hartl, Michael; Haubois, X.; Haußmann, F.; Heißel, G.; Henning, Th.; Hippler, S.; Hönig, S. F.; Horrobin, M.; Hubin, N.; Jacqmart, Estelle; Jochum, L.; Jocou, L.; Kaufer, A.; Kervella, P.; Korhonen, H.; Kreidberg, Laura; Lacour, S.; Lagarde, S.; Lai, O.; Lapeyrère, V.; Laugier, R.; Bouquin, J.-B. Le; Leftley, James; Léna, Pierre; Lutz, D.; Mang, F.; Marcotto, A.; Maurel, D.; Mérand, A.; Millour, F.; More, Nikhil; Nowacki, H.; Nowak, M.; Oberti, Sylvain; Ott, Thomas; Pallanca, L.; Pasquini, L.; Paumard, T.; Perraut, K.; Perrin, G.; Petrov, Romain G.; Pfuhl, O.; Pourré, N.; Rabien, S.; Rau, C.; Robbe-Dubois, S.; Rochat, S.; Salman, Muhammad; Schoeller, Markus; Schubert, J.; Schuhler, Nicolas; Shangguan, J.; Shimizu, T.; Scheithauer, S.; Sevin, Arnaud; Soulez, Ferréol; Spang, A.; Stadler, Eric; Stadler, J.; Straubmeier, C.; Sturm, E.; Tacconi, L. J.; Tristram, K. R. W.; Vincent, F.; Fellenberg, S. von; Uysal, Sinem; Widmann, F.; Wieprecht, E.; Wiezorrek, E.; Woillez, J.; Yazici, S.; Young, A.; Zins, G.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243941

Cited by 16 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

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“…These will enable all-sky, high contrast, µas interferometry, which can significantly improve the precision to which sources orbiting around Sgr A * can be tracked, thereby improving the determination of Sgr A * 's mass. The first phase of GRAVITY+, named GRAVITY Wide, has just begun, and we can therefore expect more precise measurements in the near future [1550]. Further improvements can also be expected from MATISSE, a second generation mid-infrared imaging spectro-interferometer for VLTI, which has recently seen first light [1551].…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizon-scale tests of gravity theories and fundamental physics from the Event Horizon Telescope image of Sagittarius A ∗

Vagnozzi

Roy

Tsai

et al. 2023

Class. Quantum Grav.

232

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Horizon-scale images of black holes (BHs) and their shadows have opened an unprecedented window onto tests of gravity and fundamental physics in the strong-field regime. We consider a wide range of well-motivated deviations from classical General Relativity (GR) BH solutions, and constrain them using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), connecting the size of the bright ring of emission to that of the underlying BH shadow and exploiting high-precision measurements of Sgr A*’s mass-to-distance ratio. The scenarios we consider, and whose fundamental parameters we constrain, include various regular BHs, string-inspired space-times, violations of the no-hair theorem driven by additional fields, alternative theories of gravity, novel fundamental physics frameworks, and BH mimickers including well-motivated wormhole and naked singularity space-times. We demonstrate that the EHT image of Sgr A* places particularly stringent constraints on models predicting a shadow size larger than that of a Schwarzschild BH of a given mass, with the resulting limits in some cases surpassing cosmological ones. Our results are among the first tests of fundamental physics from the shadow of Sgr A* and, while the latter appears to be in excellent agreement with the predictions of GR, we have shown that a number of well-motivated alternative scenarios, including BH mimickers, are far from being ruled out at present.

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Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizon-scale tests of gravity theories and fundamental physics from the Event Horizon Telescope image of Sagittarius A ∗

Vagnozzi

Roy

Tsai

et al. 2023

Class. Quantum Grav.

232

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Experimental studies of black holes: status and future prospects

Genzel,

Eisenhauer,

Gillessen

2024

Astron Astrophys Rev

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More than a century ago, Albert Einstein presented his general theory of gravitation (GR) to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. One of the predictions of the theory is that not only particles and objects with mass, but also the quanta of light, photons, are tied to the curvature of space-time, and thus to gravity. There must be a critical compactness, above which photons cannot escape. These are black holes (henceforth BH). It took 50 years after the theory was announced before possible candidate objects were identified by observational astronomy. And another 50 years have passed, until we finally have in hand detailed and credible experimental evidence that BHs of 10 to $$10^{10}$$ 10 10 times the mass of the Sun exist in the Universe. Three very different experimental techniques, but all based on Michelson interferometry or Fourier-inversion spatial interferometry have enabled the critical experimental breakthroughs. It has now become possible to investigate the space-time structure in the vicinity of the event horizons of BHs. We briefly summarize these interferometric techniques, and discuss the spectacular recent improvements achieved with all three techniques. Finally, we sketch where the path of exploration and inquiry may go on in the next decades.

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A dynamical measure of the black hole mass in a quasar 11 billion years ago

Abuter,

Allouche,

Amorim

et al. 2024

Nature

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Tight relationships exist in the local Universe between the central stellar properties of galaxies and the mass of their supermassive black hole (SMBH)1–3. These suggest that galaxies and black holes co-evolve, with the main regulation mechanism being energetic feedback from accretion onto the black hole during its quasar phase4–6. A crucial question is how the relationship between black holes and galaxies evolves with time; a key epoch to examine this relationship is at the peaks of star formation and black hole growth 8–12 billion years ago (redshifts 1–3)7. Here we report a dynamical measurement of the mass of the black hole in a luminous quasar at a redshift of 2, with a look back in time of 11 billion years, by spatially resolving the broad-line region (BLR). We detect a 40-μas (0.31-pc) spatial offset between the red and blue photocentres of the Hα line that traces the velocity gradient of a rotating BLR. The flux and differential phase spectra are well reproduced by a thick, moderately inclined disk of gas clouds within the sphere of influence of a central black hole with a mass of 3.2 × 108 solar masses. Molecular gas data reveal a dynamical mass for the host galaxy of 6 × 1011 solar masses, which indicates an undermassive black hole accreting at a super-Eddington rate. This suggests a host galaxy that grew faster than the SMBH, indicating a delay between galaxy and black hole formation for some systems.

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First light for GRAVITY Wide

Cited by 16 publications

References 65 publications

Horizon-scale tests of gravity theories and fundamental physics from the Event Horizon Telescope image of Sagittarius A ∗

Horizon-scale tests of gravity theories and fundamental physics from the Event Horizon Telescope image of Sagittarius A ∗

Experimental studies of black holes: status and future prospects

A dynamical measure of the black hole mass in a quasar 11 billion years ago

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