Inside the Bondi radius of M87
H. R. Russell, A. C. Fabian, B. R. McNamara, A. E. Broderick

TL;DR
This study uses high-resolution Chandra X-ray observations to analyze the hot gas structure within the Bondi radius of M87's supermassive black hole, revealing a shallow density profile and no temperature increase indicative of accretion rate discrepancies.
Contribution
It provides the first detailed measurement of hot gas properties within the Bondi radius of M87, challenging classical accretion models and suggesting alternative gas dynamics and feeding mechanisms.
Findings
Density profile follows ρ∝r^{-1} within Bondi radius
No temperature increase detected near SMBH, contrary to expectations
Accretion rate may be two orders of magnitude lower than Bondi estimate
Abstract
Chandra X-ray observations of the nearby brightest cluster galaxy M87 resolve the hot gas structure across the Bondi accretion radius of the central supermassive black hole, a measurement possible in only a handful of systems but complicated by the bright nucleus and jet emission. By stacking only short frame-time observations to limit pileup, and after subtracting the nuclear PSF, we analysed the X-ray gas properties within the Bondi radius at 0.12-0.22 kpc (1.5-2.8 arcsec), depending on the black hole mass. Within 2 kpc radius, we detect two significant temperature components, which are consistent with constant values of 2 keV and 0.9 keV down to 0.15 kpc radius. No evidence was found for the expected temperature increase within ~0.25 kpc due to the influence of the SMBH. Within the Bondi radius, the density profile is consistent with . The lack of a temperature…
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