Radio imaging of the very-high-energy γ-ray emission region in the central engine of a radio galaxy

Date

2009

Authors

Acciari, V.
Aliu, E.
Arlen, T.
Bautista, M.
Beilicke, M.
Benbow, W.
Bradbury, S.
Buckley, J.
Bugaev, V.
Butt, Y.

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Journal article

Citation

Science, 2009; 325(5939):444-448

Statement of Responsibility

The VERITAS Collaboration, the VLBA 43 GHz M87 Monitoring Team, the H.E.S.S. Collaboration, the MAGIC Collaboration

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Abstract

The accretion of matter onto a massive black hole is believed to feed the relativistic plasma jets found in many active galactic nuclei (AGN). Although some AGN accelerate particles to energies exceeding 10^12 electron Volts (eV) and are bright sources of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission, it is not yet known where the VHE emission originates. Here we report on radio and VHE observations of the radio galaxy M87, revealing a period of extremely strong VHE gamma-ray flares accompanied by a strong increase of the radio flux from its nucleus. These results imply that charged particles are accelerated to very high energies in the immediate vicinity of the black hole.

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© 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Submitted to Cornell University’s online archive www.arXiv.org in 2009 by Matthias Beilicke. Post-print sourced from www.arxiv.org

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