Precessing jet nozzle connecting to a spinning black hole in M87

Cui Y 1 , Hada K 2 , Kawashima T 3 , Kino M 4 , Lin W 5 , Mizuno Y 6 Show all authors , Ro H 7 , Honma M 4 , Yi K 8 , Yu J 9 , Park J 7 , Jiang W 10 , Shen Z 10 , Kravchenko E , Algaba JC 11 , Cheng X 7 , Cho I 7 , Giovannini G 12 , Giroletti M 13 , Jung T 7 , Lu RS 10 , Niinuma K 14 , Oh J 15 , Ohsuga K 16 , Sawada-Satoh S 17 , Sohn BW 7 , Takahashi HR 18 , Takamura M 4 , Tazaki F 19 , Trippe S 8 , Wajima K 7 , Akiyama K 20 , An T 10 , Asada K 21 , Buttaccio S 13 , Byun DY 7 , Cui L 22 , Hagiwara Y 23 , Hirota T 2 , Hodgson J 24 , Kawaguchi N 4 , Kim JY 25 , Lee SS 7 , Lee JW 7 , Lee JA 7 , Maccaferri G 13 , Melis A 26 , Melnikov A 27 , Migoni C 26 , Oh SJ 7 , Sugiyama K 28 , Wang X 10 , Zhang Y 10 , Chen Z 10 , Hwang JY 7 , Jung DK 7 , Kim HR 7 , Kim JS 7 , Kobayashi H 2 , Li B 10 , Li G 29 , Li X 29 , Liu Z 29 , Liu Q 10 , Liu X 29 , Oh CS 7 , Oyama T 4 , Roh DG 7 , Wang J 10 , Wang N 22 , Wang S 29 , Xia B 10 , Yan H 29 , Yeom JH 7 , Yonekura Y 30 , Yuan J 29 , Zhang H 29 , Zhao R 10 , Zhong W 10

Affiliations 

  • 1 Research Center for Intelligent Computing Platforms, Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou, China. [email protected]
  • 2 Astronomical Science Program, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Mitaka, Japan
  • 3 Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
  • 4 Mizusawa VLBI Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Oshu, Japan
  • 5 South-Western Institute For Astronomy Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
  • 6 Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 7 Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
  • 8 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Republic of Korea
  • 9 Department of Intelligence, Air Force Early Warning Academy, Wuhan, China
  • 10 Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
  • 11 Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 12 DIFA Bologna University, Bologna, Italy
  • 13 INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia, Bologna, Italy
  • 14 Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
  • 15 Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, Dwingeloo, the Netherlands
  • 16 Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
  • 17 Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Sakai, Japan
  • 18 Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Komazawa University, Setagaya, Japan
  • 19 Tokyo Electron Technology Solutions Limited, Oshu City, Japan
  • 20 National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA, USA
  • 21 Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Hilo, HI, USA
  • 22 Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 23 Toyo University, Bunkyo-ku, Japan
  • 24 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sejong University, Gwangjin-gu, Republic of Korea
  • 25 Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany
  • 26 INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Selargius, CA, Italy
  • 27 Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • 28 National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), Chiangmai, Thailand
  • 29 Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
  • 30 Center for Astronomy, Ibaraki University, Mito, Japan
Nature, 2023 Sep;621(7980):711-715.
PMID: 37758892 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06479-6

Abstract

The nearby radio galaxy M87 offers a unique opportunity to explore the connections between the central supermassive black hole and relativistic jets. Previous studies of the inner region of M87 revealed a wide opening angle for the jet originating near the black hole1-4. The Event Horizon Telescope resolved the central radio source and found an asymmetric ring structure consistent with expectations from general relativity5. With a baseline of 17 years of observations, there was a shift in the jet's transverse position, possibly arising from an 8- to 10-year quasi-periodicity3. However, the origin of this sideways shift remains unclear. Here we report an analysis of radio observations over 22 years that suggests a period of about 11 years for the variation in the position angle of the jet. We infer that we are seeing a spinning black hole that induces the Lense-Thirring precession of a misaligned accretion disk. Similar jet precession may commonly occur in other active galactic nuclei but has been challenging to detect owing to the small magnitude and long period of the variation.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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