Signatures of winds and jets in the environment of supermassive black holes

Abstract

The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHTC) has presented first - dynamic-range limited - images of the black hole shadows in M87 and Sgr A*. The next generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT) will provide higher sensitivity and higher dynamic range images (and movies) of these two sources plus image at least a dozen others at $\leq$100 gravitational radii resolution. We here perform an exploratory study of the appearance of winds and jets in such future observations. To do this we use M87 and Sgr A* as reference systems: we do not aim to exactly reproduce them, but rather to determine how their observed images will depend on specific physical assumptions. Even in the case of similar or the same dynamics, the images depend significantly on global parameters such as the black hole mass and the mass accretion rate. Our results provide guidance in the interpretation of future high-resolution images, particularly if a wind or jet is detected.