Chinese scientists decode M87 black hole's radiation secrets
Chinese scientists have successfully created the first spatially resolved spectral index map of the M87 black hole. This breakthrough allows researchers to move beyond static imaging to understand the dynamic physical properties of plasma and radiation near the event horizon.
Why it matters
This advancement provides deeper insights into the fundamental physics of black hole accretion and jet formation, marking a significant evolution in observational astrophysics.
Chinese scientists have taken a crucial step from “seeing” to “reading” a black hole, unveiling the first spatially resolved spectral index map of the M87 black hole on the event horizon scale, revealing the gradient of the spectral index with distance from the center.
The study, led by a team from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 20.
Located 55 million light-years away at the center of the M87 galaxy in the Virgo constellation, the M87 black hole, weighing 6.5 billion times the mass of our Sun, made history in 2019 when humanity captured its first-ever image.
By combining international observational data from global telescope networks, the Chinese-led team conducted a dual-frequency joint analysis.
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