How narrow is the M87* ring? II. A new geometric model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a more realistic geometric model for M87*'s ring, including a secondary photon ring, and finds the primary ring remains narrow, supporting the idea of a very thin black hole shadow.

Contribution

It develops a new geometric model with adjustable brightness falloff and a secondary photon ring, testing the robustness of the ring width measurement against model assumptions.

Findings

The primary ring remains narrow (fractional width ≤ 0.25) even with the new model.

No evidence found for a secondary photon ring in the 2017 data.

The techniques may aid future, more sensitive observations.

Abstract

The 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of M87* detected a ring-shaped feature $\sim40\mu$as in diameter, consistent with the event horizon scale of a black hole of the expected mass. The thickness of this ring, however, proved difficult to measure, despite being an important parameter for constraining the observational appearance. In the first paper of this series we asked whether the width of the ring was sensitive to the choice of likelihood function used to compare observed closure phases and closure amplitudes to model predictions. In this paper we investigate whether the ring width is robust to changes in the model itself. We construct a more realistic geometric model with two new features: an adjustable radial falloff in brightness, and a secondary "photon ring" component in addition to the primary annulus. This thin, secondary ring is predicted by gravitational lensing for any black hole with an optically thin accretion flow. Analyzing the data using the new model, we find that the primary annulus remains narrow (fractional width $\leq0.25$) even with the added model freedom. This provides further evidence in favor of a narrow ring for the true sky appearance of M87*, a surprising feature that, if confirmed, would demand theoretical explanation. Comparing the Bayesian evidence for models with and without a secondary ring, we find no evidence for the presence of a lensed photon ring in the 2017 observations. However, the techniques we introduce may prove useful for future observations with a larger and more sensitive array.