When surrounded by a transparent emission region, black holes are expected to reveal a dark shadow caused by gravitational light bending and photon capture at the event horizon. To image and study this phenomenon, we have assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a global very long baseline interferometry array observing at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. This allows us to reconstruct event-horizon-scale images of the supermassive black hole candidate in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy M87. We have resolved the central compact radio source as an asymmetric bright emission ring with a diameter of 42±3 μas, which is circular and encompasses a central depression in brightness with a flux ratio 10:1. The emission ring is recovered using different calibration and imaging schemes, with its diameter and width remaining stable over four different observations carried out in different days. Overall, the observed image is consistent with expectations for the shadow of a Kerr black hole as predicted by general relativity. The asymmetry in brightness in the ring can be explained in terms of relativistic beaming of the emission from a plasma rotating close to the speed of light around a black hole. We compare our images to an extensive library of ray-traced general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black holes and derive a central mass of M=(6.5±0.7)×10 9 M e . Our radiowave observations thus provide powerful evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes in centers of galaxies and as the central engines of active galactic nuclei. They also present a new tool to explore gravity in its most extreme limit and on a mass scale that was so far not accessible.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) array that comprises millimeter-and submillimeter-wavelength telescopes separated by distances comparable to the diameter of the Earth. At a nominal operating wavelength of ∼1.3 mm, EHT angular resolution (λ/D) is ∼25 μas, which is sufficient to resolve nearby supermassive black hole candidates on spatial and temporal scales that correspond to their event horizons. With this capability, the EHT scientific goals are to probe general relativistic effects in the strong-field regime and to study accretion and relativistic jet formation near the black hole boundary. In this Letter we describe the system design of the EHT, detail the technology and instrumentation that enable observations, and provide measures of its performance. Meeting the EHT science objectives has required several key developments that have facilitated the robust extension of the VLBI technique to EHT observing wavelengths and the production of instrumentation that can be deployed on a heterogeneous array of existing telescopes and facilities. To meet sensitivity requirements, high-bandwidth digital systems were developed that process data at rates of 64gigabit s −1 , exceeding those of currently operating cm-wavelength VLBI arrays by more than an order of magnitude. Associated improvements include the development of phasing systems at array facilities, new receiver installation at several sites, and the deployment of hydrogen maser frequency standards to ensure coherent data capture across the array. These efforts led to the coordination and execution of the first Global EHT observations in 2017 April, and to event-horizon-scale imaging of the supermassive black hole candidate in M87.

Abstract.A multi-line millimeter-wave study of the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 4945 has been carried out using the Swedish-ESO Submillimeter Telescope (SEST). The study covers the frequency range from 82 GHz to 354 GHz and includes 80 transitions of 19 molecules. 1.3 mm continuum data of the nuclear source are also presented. An analysis of CO and 1.3 mm continuum fluxes indicates that the conversion factor between H 2 column density and CO J = 1−0 integrated intensity is smaller than in the galactic disk by factors of 5−10. A large number of molecular species indicate the presence of a prominent high density interstellar gas component characterized by n H 2 ∼ 10 5 cm −3 . Some spectra show Gaussian profiles. Others exhibit two main velocity components, one at ∼450 km s −1 , the other at ∼710 km s −1 . While the gas in the former component has a higher linewidth, the latter component arises from gas that is more highly excited as is indicated by HCN, HCO + and CN spectra. Abundances of molecular species are calculated and compared with abundances observed toward the starburst galaxies NGC 253 and M 82 and galactic sources. Apparent is an "overabundance" of HNC in the nuclear environment of NGC 4945. While the HNC/HCN J = 1−0 line intensity ratio is ∼0.5, the HNC/HCN abundance ratio is ∼1. From a comparison of K a = 0 and 1 HNCO line intensities, an upper limit to the background radiation of 30 K is derived. While HCN is subthermally excited (T ex ∼ 8 K), CN is even less excited (T ex ∼ 3−4 K), indicating that it arises from a less dense gas component and that its N = 2−1 line can be optically thin even though its N = 1−0 emission is moderately optically thick. Overall, fractional abundances of NGC 4945 suggest that the starburst has reached a stage of evolution that is intermediate between those observed in NGC 253 and M 82. Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur isotope ratios are also determined. Within the limits of uncertainty, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios appear to be the same in the nuclear regions of NGC 4945 and NGC 253. S ratios (6.4 ± 0.3, 195 ± 45, 105 ± 25 and 13.5 ± 2.5 in NGC 4945, respectively) appear to be characteristic properties of a starburst environment in which massive stars have had sufficient time to affect the isotopic composition of the surrounding interstellar medium.

Context. Chamaeleon I is the most active region in terms of star formation in the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex. Although it is one of the nearest low-mass star forming regions, its population of prestellar and protostellar cores is not known and a controversy exists concerning its history of star formation. Aims. Our goal is to search for prestellar and protostellar cores and characterize the earliest stages of star formation in this cloud. Methods. We used the bolometer array LABOCA at the APEX telescope to map the cloud in dust continuum emission at 870 μm with a high sensitivity. This deep, unbiased survey was performed based on an extinction map derived from 2MASS data. The 870 μm map is compared with the extinction map and C 18 O observations, and decomposed with a multiresolution algorithm. The extracted sources are analysed by carefully taking into account the spatial filtering inherent in the data reduction process. A search for associations with young stellar objects is performed using Spitzer data and the SIMBAD database. Results. Most of the detected 870 μm emission is distributed in five filaments. We identify 59 starless cores, one candidate first hydrostatic core, and 21 sources associated with more evolved young stellar objects. The estimated 90% completeness limit of our survey is 0.22 M for the starless cores. The latter are only found above a visual extinction threshold of 5 mag. They are less dense than those detected in other nearby molecular clouds by a factor of a few on average, maybe because of the better sensitivity of our survey. The core mass distribution is consistent with the IMF at the high-mass end but is overpopulated at the low-mass end. In addition, at most 17% of the cores have a mass larger than the critical Bonnor-Ebert mass. Both results suggest that a large fraction of the starless cores may not be prestellar in nature. Based on the census of prestellar cores, Class 0 protostars, and more evolved young stellar objects, we conclude that the star formation rate has decreased with time in this cloud. Conclusions. The low fraction of candidate prestellar cores among the population of starless cores, the small number of Class 0 protostars, the high global star formation efficiency, the decrease of the star formation rate with time, and the low mass per unit length of the detected filaments all suggest that we may be witnessing the end of the star formation process in Chamaeleon I.

We present the results from a full polarization study carried out with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) during the first Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) campaign, which was conducted in 2017 April in the λ3 mm and λ1.3 mm bands, in concert with the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA) and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), respectively. We determine the polarization and Faraday properties of all VLBI targets, including Sgr A * , M87, and a dozen radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs), in the two bands at several epochs in a time window of 10 days. We detect high linear polarization fractions (2%-15%) and large rotation measures (RM > 10 3.3 -10 5.5 rad m −2 ), confirming the trends of previous AGN studies at millimeter wavelengths. We find that blazars are more strongly polarized than other AGNs in the sample, while exhibiting (on average) order-of-magnitude lower RM values, consistent with the AGN viewing angle unification scheme. For Sgr A * we report a mean RM of (−4.2 ± 0.3) × 10 5 rad m −2 at 1.3 mm, consistent with measurements over the past decade and, for the first time, an RM of (-2.1 ± 0.1) × 10 5 rad m −2 at 3 mm, suggesting