Résumé / Abstract Journal-club_GReCO

Séminaire / Seminar GReCO

« What can we infer from black hole images? »

Frederic Vincent
Obs. Paris-Meudon-Nancay (Paris, France)

The recent Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) millimeter image of the vicinity
of the supermassive compact object M87* at the center of the
galaxy M87 is a breakthrough. It is important to investigate what
can and what cannot be inferred from such images.

In this talk I will discuss a simple geometric model of the region
of the accretion flow immediately surrounding M87*. I will use this
model to discuss the highly-lensed features of EHT-like images,
often loosely referred to as the "photon ring". I will discuss whether
such features can be used as clean probes of the nature of the
underlying spacetime. I will also discuss various EHT-like images
of M87*, assuming this object is various kinds of compact alternatives
to the standard black hole. This will allow discussing to what extent
can EHT-like images help constrain the nature of the compact objects
at the center of M87 or our Milky Way.
lundi 14 septembre 2020 - 11:00
Amphithéâtre Henri Mineur
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
Pages web du séminaire / Seminar's webpage