Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Formation of the radio jet in M87 at 100 Schwarzschild radii from the central black hole

Nature volume 401, pages 891–892 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Massive galaxies often are the source of well collimated jets of material that flow outwards for tens to hundreds of kiloparsecs from the regions surrounding the presumed black holes at their centres. The processes by which the jets are formed and collimated have been important problems for many years1, and observations have hitherto had insufficient spatial resolution to investigate the length scales associated with these processes2,3. Here we report observations at 43 GHz of the inner regions of the nearby active galaxy M87. The data show a remarkably broad jet having an ‘opening angle’ of ∼60° near the centre, with strong collimation of the jet occurring at ∼30–100 Schwarzschild radii (rS) from the black hole: collimation continues out to ∼1,000 rS. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that jets are formed by an accretion disk around the central black hole, which is threaded by a magnetic field4.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Image of the nucleus of M87 at 43.237 GHz on 3 March 1999.
Figure 2: Pseudo-colour rendition of the nucleus of M87 at 43 GHz on 3 March 1999.
Figure 3: Jet full opening angle as function of distance from the core for M87.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Begelman,M. C., Blandford,R. D. & Rees,M. J. Theory of extragalactic radio sources. Rev. Mod. Phys. 56, 255–351 (1984).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Zensus,A. J. Parsec-scale jets in extragalactic radio sources. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 35, 607–636 (1997).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Tingay,S. J. et al. The subparsec-scale structure and evolution of Centaurus A: the nearest active radio galaxy. Astron. J. 115, 960–974 (1998).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Livio,M. Astrophysical jets: a phenomenological examination of acceleration and collimation. Phys. Rep. 311, 225–245 (1999).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jacoby,G. H., Ciardullo,R. & Ford,H. C. Planetary nebulae as standard candles. V—The distance to the Virgo Cluster. Astrophys. J. 356, 332–349 (1990).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Curtis,H. D. The planetary nebulae. Publ. Lick Obs. 13, 55–74 (1918).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Biretta,J. A. in Astrophysical Jets (eds Burgarella, D., Livio, M. & O'Dea, C.) 263–304 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Biretta,J. A. in The Radio Galaxy M87 (eds Röser, H. J. & Meisenheimer, K.) (Springer, Heidelberg, in the press).

  9. Biretta,J. A., Sparks,W. B. & Macchetto,F. Hubble Space Telescope observations of superluminal motion in the M87 jet. Astrophys. J. 520, 621–626 (1999).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Ford,H. C. et al. Narrowband HST images of M87: Evidence for a disk of ionized gas around a massive black hole. Astrophys. J. 435, L27–L30 (1994).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Harms,R. J. et al. HST FOS spectroscopy of M87: Evidence for a disk of ionized gas around a massive black hole. Astrophys. J. 435, L35–L38 (1994).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Macchetto,F. D. et al. The supermassive black hole of M87 and the kinematics of its associated gaseous disk. Astrophys. J. 489, 579–600 (1997).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Fender,R. P., Bell-Burnell,S. J. & Waltman,E. B. The radio-jet X-ray binaries. Vistas Astron. 41, 3–13 (1997).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ray,T. P. & Mundt,R. in Astrophysical Jets (eds Burgarella, D., Livio, M. & O'Dea, C.) 145–175 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Reid,M. J., Biretta,J. A., Junor,W., Muxlow,T. W. B. & Spencer,R. E. Subluminal motion and limb brightening in the nuclear jet of M87. Astrophys. J. 336, 112–120 (1989).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Biretta,J. A. & Junor,W. The parsec-scale jet in M87. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 92, 11364–11367 (1995).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Junor,W. & Biretta,J. A. The radio jet in 3C274 at 0.01 pc resolution. Astron. J. 109, 500–506 (1995).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Biretta,J. A., Zhou,F. & Owen,F. N. Detection of proper motions in the M87 jet. Astrophys. J. 477, 582–596 (1995).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ouyed,R., Pudritz,R. E. & Stone,J. M. Episodic jets from black holes and protostars. Nature 385, 409–414 (1997).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Blandford,R. D. Accretion disc electrodynamics—a model for double radio sources. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 176, 465–481 (1976).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Lovelace,R. V. E. Dynamo model of double radio sources. Nature 262, 649–652 (1976).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Blandford,R. D. in Astrophysical Jets (eds Burgarella, D., Livio, M. & O'Dea, C.) 15–33 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Spruit,H. C. in Cosmical Magnetism (ed. Lynden-Bell, D.) 33–44 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1994).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Owen,F. N., Hardee,P. E. & Cornwell,T. J. High-resolution, high dynamic range VLA images of the M87 jet at 2 centimeters. Astrophys. J. 340, 698–707 (1989).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Zensus,J. A., Diamond,P. J. & Napier,P. J. (eds) Very Long Baseline Interferometry and the VLBA (ASP Conf. Ser 82, Astronomical Soc. of the Pacific, San Francisco, 1995).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff at the participating observatories for their help, and the software developers at NRAO. The Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array are facilities operated by Associated Universities Inc. under agreement with the National Science Foundation. W.J. thanks the National Science Foundation for support. M.L. was supported by NASA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, 800 Yale Boulevard, NE, Albuquerque, 87131, New Mexico, USA

    William Junor

  2. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, 21218, Maryland, USA

    John A. Biretta & Mario Livio

Authors
  1. William Junor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John A. Biretta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mario Livio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John A. Biretta.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Junor, W., Biretta, J. & Livio, M. Formation of the radio jet in M87 at 100 Schwarzschild radii from the central black hole. Nature 401, 891–892 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/44780

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/44780

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing