
Find more information about these ground-breaking results from the following web resources:
Press release of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Press release of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
About the modelling the EHT observations of Sagittarius A*
The research group contributed significantly to the modelling of the recently released image of the black hole in the centre of the Milky Way.
To interpret the EHT image and to learn more about our central black hole. We performed detailed models of how the plasma and radiation behaves in the direct vicinity of black holes.
Due to the strong gravity close to the black hole, a general relativistic treatment of the plasma dynamics and radiative transfer is required. Therefore, we carried out most detailed 3D general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of accreting black holes. Once we obtained the plasma dynamics we computed the emitted radiation using general relativistic radiative transfer calculations.
We generated radio images at various frequencies and broad-band spectra including X-rays. In order to find the best-bet models for Sagittarius A* we explored a large parameter space covering multiple black hole spins, inclinations and radiation processes. These models were compared with the EHT image and with complementary data. We found that the black hole in Sagittarius A* is rotating and seen face-on.
Text: C. M. Fromm (Uni Würzburg and P1 project leader)

Exploring the parameter space (mass, orientation and spin) through GRMHD simulations