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Main Authors: Emami, Razieh, Liska, Matthew, Chatterjee, Koushik, Bower, Geoffrey C., Benbow, Wystan, Finkbeiner, Douglas, Wielgus, Maciek, Hernquist, Lars, Smith, Randall, Tremblay, Grant, Ricarte, Angelo, Steiner, James F., Broderick, Avery E., Saurabh, Davelaar, Jordy, Grindlay, Josh, Vogelsberger, Mark, Chan, Chi-Kwan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.04695
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author Emami, Razieh
Liska, Matthew
Chatterjee, Koushik
Bower, Geoffrey C.
Benbow, Wystan
Finkbeiner, Douglas
Wielgus, Maciek
Hernquist, Lars
Smith, Randall
Tremblay, Grant
Ricarte, Angelo
Steiner, James F.
Broderick, Avery E.
Saurabh
Davelaar, Jordy
Grindlay, Josh
Vogelsberger, Mark
Chan, Chi-Kwan
author_facet Emami, Razieh
Liska, Matthew
Chatterjee, Koushik
Bower, Geoffrey C.
Benbow, Wystan
Finkbeiner, Douglas
Wielgus, Maciek
Hernquist, Lars
Smith, Randall
Tremblay, Grant
Ricarte, Angelo
Steiner, James F.
Broderick, Avery E.
Saurabh
Davelaar, Jordy
Grindlay, Josh
Vogelsberger, Mark
Chan, Chi-Kwan
contents Recent multi-wavelength observations of M87* \citep{2024A&A...692A.140A} revealed a high-energy $γ$-ray flare without a corresponding millimeter counterpart. We present a theoretical polarimetric study to evaluate the presence and nature of a potential millimeter flare in M87*, using a suite of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations with varying black hole (BH) spins and magnetic field configurations. We find that the emergence of a millimeter flare is strongly influenced by both spin and magnetic structure, with limited sensitivity to the electron distribution (thermal vs. non-thermal). We model the intensity light curve with a damped random walk (DRW) and compare the characteristic timescale ($τ$) with recent SMA observations, finding that the simulated $τ$ exceeds observed values by over an order of magnitude. In a flaring case with BH spin a=+0.5, we identify a distinct millimeter flare followed by an order-of-magnitude flux drop. All Stokes parameters show variability near the flare, including a sign reversal in the electric vector position angle. While most $β_m$ modes remain stable, the $EB$-correlation phase is highly sensitive to both the flare peak and decay. We examine polarimetric signatures in photon sub-rings, focusing on modes ns=0 and ns=1. The ns=0 signal closely matches the full image, while ns=1 reveals distinct behaviors, highlighting the potential of space VLBI to isolate sub-ring features. Finally, we analyze the magnetic and velocity field evolution during the flare, finding that magnetic reconnection weakens during the flux decay, and the clockwise velocity flow transitions into an outflow-dominated regime. These results suggest that transient radio variability near flares encodes key information about black hole spin and magnetic field structure, offering a novel probe into the physics of active galactic nuclei.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_04695
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Novel Polarimetric Analysis of Near Horizon Flaring Episodes in M87* in Millimeter Wavelength
Emami, Razieh
Liska, Matthew
Chatterjee, Koushik
Bower, Geoffrey C.
Benbow, Wystan
Finkbeiner, Douglas
Wielgus, Maciek
Hernquist, Lars
Smith, Randall
Tremblay, Grant
Ricarte, Angelo
Steiner, James F.
Broderick, Avery E.
Saurabh
Davelaar, Jordy
Grindlay, Josh
Vogelsberger, Mark
Chan, Chi-Kwan
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Recent multi-wavelength observations of M87* \citep{2024A&A...692A.140A} revealed a high-energy $γ$-ray flare without a corresponding millimeter counterpart. We present a theoretical polarimetric study to evaluate the presence and nature of a potential millimeter flare in M87*, using a suite of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations with varying black hole (BH) spins and magnetic field configurations. We find that the emergence of a millimeter flare is strongly influenced by both spin and magnetic structure, with limited sensitivity to the electron distribution (thermal vs. non-thermal). We model the intensity light curve with a damped random walk (DRW) and compare the characteristic timescale ($τ$) with recent SMA observations, finding that the simulated $τ$ exceeds observed values by over an order of magnitude. In a flaring case with BH spin a=+0.5, we identify a distinct millimeter flare followed by an order-of-magnitude flux drop. All Stokes parameters show variability near the flare, including a sign reversal in the electric vector position angle. While most $β_m$ modes remain stable, the $EB$-correlation phase is highly sensitive to both the flare peak and decay. We examine polarimetric signatures in photon sub-rings, focusing on modes ns=0 and ns=1. The ns=0 signal closely matches the full image, while ns=1 reveals distinct behaviors, highlighting the potential of space VLBI to isolate sub-ring features. Finally, we analyze the magnetic and velocity field evolution during the flare, finding that magnetic reconnection weakens during the flux decay, and the clockwise velocity flow transitions into an outflow-dominated regime. These results suggest that transient radio variability near flares encodes key information about black hole spin and magnetic field structure, offering a novel probe into the physics of active galactic nuclei.
title Novel Polarimetric Analysis of Near Horizon Flaring Episodes in M87* in Millimeter Wavelength
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.04695