Non-thermal Synchrotron Emission and Polarization Signatures during Black Hole Flux Eruptions

TL;DR

This study uses 3D GRMHD simulations to explore how anisotropic non-thermal electrons influence synchrotron emission and polarization signatures during magnetic flux eruptions in black hole accretion disks.

Contribution

It introduces models of anisotropic non-thermal electron pitch-angle distributions and analyzes their impact on observable emission and polarization during eruptions.

Findings

Non-thermal emission causes flux outbursts and brightening during eruptions.

Anisotropic pitch-angle distributions significantly alter emission and polarization signatures.

Field-aligned beaming suppresses non-thermal emission for near-axis observers.

Abstract

In this work, we investigate synchrotron emission and the observational signatures of anisotropic non-thermal electrons during magnetic-flux eruptions in a magnetically arrested disk, using 3D GRMHD simulations. Non-thermal electrons are assumed to be accelerated from the thermal background through magnetic reconnection, with pitch-angle distributions modeled as beamed or loss-cone types, alongside an isotropic case for comparison. The results show that non-thermal emission can produce pronounced flux outbursts and localized brightening during eruptions, while the associated increase in optical depth can suppress the linear polarization fraction. Introducing pitch-angle anisotropy further reshapes the angular distribution of the intrinsic emissivity and modulates its contribution to various observable signatures. Strong field-aligned beaming in the electron distribution suppresses non-thermal emission for near-axis observers, effectively driving the image morphology toward a purely thermal limit. In contrast, moderately anisotropic models remain effective at imprinting non-thermal electron signatures on both the total intensity and polarization structure. We further quantify how eruption-driven increases in absorption depth and enhanced Faraday effects reduce the linear polarization fraction and modify the azimuthal coherence of the polarization field. Overall, our results demonstrate that incorporating anisotropic non-thermal electrons is essential for a physically self-consistent interpretation of time-variable EHT polarimetric observations.