USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A*
The recent detection of Sagittarius A* at λ = 1.3 mm on a baseline from Hawaii to Arizona demonstrates that millimeter wavelength very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) can now spatially resolve emission from the innermost accretion flow of the Galactic center region. Here, we investigate the abil...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2015
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96007 |
| _version_ | 1826195466776215552 |
|---|---|
| author | Fish, Vincent L. Broderick, Avery E. Loeb, Abraham Doeleman, Sheperd Samuel |
| author2 | Haystack Observatory |
| author_facet | Haystack Observatory Fish, Vincent L. Broderick, Avery E. Loeb, Abraham Doeleman, Sheperd Samuel |
| author_sort | Fish, Vincent L. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The recent detection of Sagittarius A* at λ = 1.3 mm on a baseline from Hawaii to Arizona demonstrates that millimeter wavelength very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) can now spatially resolve emission from the innermost accretion flow of the Galactic center region. Here, we investigate the ability of future millimeter VLBI arrays to constrain the spin and inclination of the putative black hole and the orientation of the accretion disk major axis within the context of radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF) models. We examine the range of baseline visibility and closure amplitudes predicted by RIAF models to identify critical telescopes for determining the spin, inclination, and disk orientation of the Sgr A* black hole and accretion disk system. We find that baseline lengths near 3 Gλ have the greatest power to distinguish amongst RIAF model parameters, and that it will be important to include new telescopes that will form north-south baselines with a range of lengths. If an RIAF model describes the emission from Sgr A*, it is likely that the orientation of the accretion disk can be determined with the addition of a Chilean telescope to the array. Some likely disk orientations predict detectable fluxes on baselines between the continental United States and even a single 10-12 m dish in Chile. The extra information provided from closure amplitudes by a four-antenna array enhances the ability of VLBI to discriminate amongst model parameters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:13:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/96007 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:13:07Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/960072022-09-26T16:29:16Z USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* Fish, Vincent L. Broderick, Avery E. Loeb, Abraham Doeleman, Sheperd Samuel Haystack Observatory Fish, Vincent L. Doeleman, Sheperd Samuel The recent detection of Sagittarius A* at λ = 1.3 mm on a baseline from Hawaii to Arizona demonstrates that millimeter wavelength very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) can now spatially resolve emission from the innermost accretion flow of the Galactic center region. Here, we investigate the ability of future millimeter VLBI arrays to constrain the spin and inclination of the putative black hole and the orientation of the accretion disk major axis within the context of radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF) models. We examine the range of baseline visibility and closure amplitudes predicted by RIAF models to identify critical telescopes for determining the spin, inclination, and disk orientation of the Sgr A* black hole and accretion disk system. We find that baseline lengths near 3 Gλ have the greatest power to distinguish amongst RIAF model parameters, and that it will be important to include new telescopes that will form north-south baselines with a range of lengths. If an RIAF model describes the emission from Sgr A*, it is likely that the orientation of the accretion disk can be determined with the addition of a Chilean telescope to the array. Some likely disk orientations predict detectable fluxes on baselines between the continental United States and even a single 10-12 m dish in Chile. The extra information provided from closure amplitudes by a four-antenna array enhances the ability of VLBI to discriminate amongst model parameters. National Science Foundation (U.S.) 2015-03-12T20:48:51Z 2015-03-12T20:48:51Z 2009-01 2008-09 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0004-637X 1538-4357 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96007 Fish, Vincent L., Avery E. Broderick, Sheperd S. Doeleman, and Abraham Loeb. “USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A*.” The Astrophysical Journal 692, no. 1 (January 21, 2009): L14–L18. © 2009 The American Astronomical Society en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/692/1/l14 Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing American Astronomical Society |
| spellingShingle | Fish, Vincent L. Broderick, Avery E. Loeb, Abraham Doeleman, Sheperd Samuel USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* |
| title | USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* |
| title_full | USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* |
| title_fullStr | USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* |
| title_full_unstemmed | USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* |
| title_short | USING MILLIMETER VLBI TO CONSTRAIN RIAF MODELS OF SAGITTARIUS A* |
| title_sort | using millimeter vlbi to constrain riaf models of sagittarius a |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96007 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fishvincentl usingmillimetervlbitoconstrainriafmodelsofsagittariusa AT broderickaverye usingmillimetervlbitoconstrainriafmodelsofsagittariusa AT loebabraham usingmillimetervlbitoconstrainriafmodelsofsagittariusa AT doelemansheperdsamuel usingmillimetervlbitoconstrainriafmodelsofsagittariusa |