Particle acceleration close to the supermassive black hole horizon: the case of M87

Abstract

The radio galaxy M87 has recently been found to be a rapidly variable TeV emitting source. We analyze the implications of the observed TeV characteristics and show that it proves challenging to account for them within conventional acceleration and emission models. We discuss a new pulsar-type scenario for the origin of variable, very high energy (VHE) emission close to the central supermassive black hole and show that magneto-centrifugally accelerated electrons could efficiently Compton upscatter sub-mm ADAF disk photons to the TeV regime, leading to VHE characteristics close to the observed ones. This suggests, conversely, that VHE observations of highly under-luminous AGNs could provide an important diagnostic tool for probing the conditions prevalent in the inner accretion disk of these sources.

5 pages, one figure (typos corrected); based on presentation at "High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outflows", Dublin, Sept. 2007; accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics D

References in corpus (9)

• The Inner Jet of the Radio Galaxy M87
• Production of TeV gamma-radiation in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole in the giant radiogalaxy M87
• Spine-sheath layer radiative interplay in subparsec-scale jets and the TeV emission from M87
• Superluminal Radio Features in the M87 Jet and the Site of Flaring TeV Gamma-ray Emission
• High Frequency VLBI Imaging of the Jet Base of M87
• Variable VHE gamma-ray emission from non-blazar AGNs
• On the efficiency of particle acceleration by rotating magnetospheres in AGN
• Spins of the supermassive black hole in M87: new constraints from TeV observations
• X-ray and TeV Gamma-Ray Emission from Parallel Electron-Positron or Electron-Proton Beams in BL Lac Objects

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Radio Imaging of the Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission Region in the Central Engine of a Radio Galaxy
• 230 GHz VLBI observations of M87: event-horizon-scale structure at the enhanced very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray state in 2012
• A lepto-hadronic model for high-energy emission from FR I radiogalaxies
• Active Galactic Nuclei under the scrutiny of CTA
• Cen A as TeV gamma-ray and possible UHE cosmic-ray source
• Non-thermal Processes in Black-Hole-Jet Magnetospheres
• Probing the central black hole in M87 with gamma-rays
• Measuring parameters of AGN central engines with very high energy gamma-ray flares
• Bhjet: a public multi-zone, steady state jet + thermal corona spectral model
• Numerical Modeling of Multi-wavelength Spectra of M87 Core Emission