M87 black hole mass and spin estimate through the position of the jet boundary shape break

Abstract

We propose a new method of estimating a mass of a super massive black hole residing in the center of an active galaxy. The active galaxy M87 offers a convenient test case for the method due to the existence of a large amount of observational data on the jet and ambient environment properties in the central area of the object. We suggest that the observed transition of a jet boundary shape from a parabolic to a conical form is associated with the flow transiting from the magnetically dominated regime to the energy equipartition between plasma bulk motion and magnetic field. By coupling the unique set of observations available for the jet kinematics, environment and boundary profile with our MHD modelling under assumption on the presence of a dynamically important magnetic field in the M87 jet, we estimate the central black hole mass and spin. The method leads us to believe that the M87 super massive black hole has a mass somewhat larger than typically accepted so far.

10 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables, accepted for publication by MNRAS

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• The masses and shadows of the black holes Sagittarius A* and M87* in modified gravity (MOG)
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• Core shift in parabolic accelerating jets
• Synchrotron intensity plots from a relativistic stratified jet
• Spins of supermassive black holes M87* and SgrA* revealed from the size of dark spots in Event Horizon Telescope Images
• Spin of the M87 black hole
• Parabolic jet shape on parsec scales in high redshift AGN
• On the M87 jet structure near the central engine
• The Lense-Thirring effect at work in M87${}^{\ast }$
• On the possible core shift break in relativistic jets
• The no-hair theorems at work in M87${}^{\ast }$
• Past, present and Future of the Scaling Relations of Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei
• Jet MHD analytical model - framework for radiative transfer
• Measuring black hole spin through gravitational lensing of pulsars
• Millimeter VLBI constraints on the central magnetic field and symmetric jet production in the twin-jet galaxy NGC 1052
• Ergomagnetosphere, Ejection Disc, Magnetopause in M87. I Global Flow of Mass, Angular Momentum, Energy and Current
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