[Team Biography].
The Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been committed to high-resolution observation and research of supermassive black holes for more than 20 years, forming a high-level scientific research team. In recent years, the team has led mainland scholars to participate in the International Collaboration of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), and jointly captured the first black hole in the center of the M87 galaxy in 2019 and won the Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way**, the former winning the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. In 2023, an international cooperation team led by the team released a "panoramic photo" of the M87 black hole. At present, the team is actively promoting the construction of China's submillimeter-wave telescope for the next generation of black hole imaging.
Caption: The world's first black hole** International Cooperation Organization for Event Horizon Telescopes.
Imagine a shower room, the shower is turned on, and a lively puppy is spinning in place, how difficult is it to take a picture of it?
Coincidentally, taking a picture of the black hole is similar to this scene, but obviously, it is thousands of times more difficult.
In the eyes of outsiders, the scientific research team is linked to romance, and the black hole imaging research team of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences can be counted as one. After all, the team that gave the "doughnut" title to the black hole photo must have the sea of stars in their hearts.
Time flies, and it has been five years since people saw the first black hole**. At 9 p.m. Beijing time on April 10, 2019, an unprecedented and high-profile press conference was held at the same time in six places around the world, including Shanghai. After a long wait, the image of a black hole that has been simulated on a computer for a long time is truly presented to people for the first time.
In this photo from the "Horizon Event Telescope", the black hole at the center of M87, which is 55 million light-years away from us, is like the magic eye of Sauron in the movie "The Lord of the Rings", in the middle of the warm and mysterious red halo, is a deep black bottomless pit. Of course, the more familiar metaphor is, the doughnut.
The story can begin in 2017, when eight telescopes spanning the diameter of the Earth joined forces to form the epic "Event Horizon Telescope", looking into the endless sky; The story can also start from 1915, when Einstein used his genius physical intuition to propose the general theory of relativity, and since then, human beings have depicted black holes in their minds for nearly 100 years.
Caption: Shen Zhiqiang introduces the research progress of black holes, taken by Xinmin Evening News reporter Gao Yang.
The Shanghai Astronomical Observatory took the lead in organizing and coordinating mainland scholars to participate in the 'Event Horizon Telescope' cooperation, and 8 of the 16 Chinese mainland scholars participating in this international scientific cooperation are from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. Shen Zhiqiang, director of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced.
Jiang Wu, an associate researcher at the Radio Astronomy Science and Technology Laboratory of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, is one of them, and participated in the observation of the Hawaii submillimeter-wave telescope. "There are two volcanoes there, one is still active. "Sometimes when I returned to the base in the early hours of the morning after an observation, I could see Mars erupting from the crater." He sighed that the magic of nature and the magic of the black hole of the universe were intertwined at that moment, not to mention how romantic!
Caption: Jiang Wu made an academic report Courtesy of the interviewee.
Observation is already difficult, and "flushing" is even more difficult. The difficulty of "flushing" is difficult because of the huge amount of data, which takes a full two years. The painstaking observations are not just a simple one, echoing Einstein's general theory of relativity on the one hand, and helping scientists answer how spectacular jets in galaxies create and affect galaxy changes.
On the day of the press conference, for the black hole imaging research team of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, the feeling of "the light boat has passed over the Ten Thousand Mountains" was so real.
Caption: Black hole at the center of the Milky Way** International Collaboration for Event Horizon Telescopes.
Three years after the first black hole**, from 2The black hole at the center of the Milky Way, 70,000 light-years away, is also revealed—continuing the "doughnut" appearance of the black hole in the M87 galaxy, but with a more fluffy miniature appearance. The story of "the building near the water gets the moon first" did not happen to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, but interpreted "I don't know the true face of Lushan, only because I am in this mountain". "This image provides visual evidence of the real existence of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and the 'fickleness' of the galactic black hole also brings difficulties and challenges to calibration and imaging work. Shen Zhiqiang said.
Caption: Lu Rusen introduces the research results of black holes, photo by Gao Yang.
By the way, in fact, the black hole at the center of M87 has also been "renovated" - there are streaks on the ring, which is proof of strong polarization of light. Lu Rusen, a researcher at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is one of the main participants in this work, the scientist who gave up his family to return to China in 2018 and gave up his family to return to China abroad, explained that although from the sensory point of view, the two M87 black holes are almost the same as the truth, but from a scientific point of view, the new ** provides a new perspective for human beings to understand black holes, "Polarization images are the key to understanding how magnetic fields allow black holes to 'swallow' matter and emit jets of great energy." ”
The black hole imaging research team of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory will also sigh that they thought that "heavenly things" were quite pure, and only people would have so many troubles. But after studying the black hole, it was discovered that this is not the case. Celestial bodies, like humans, go through many events and changes in their circumstances. Everyone found out, hey, the troubles turned out to be universal!
Sometimes, Shen Zhiqiang also lamented that human beings are great and small - trying to see the universe 55 million light years away, but it is also an insignificant piece of sand in the long river of the universe.
Zhao Shanshan of the High Resolution Radio Astrophysics Research Group of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory is a young doctor. Originally engaged in theoretical research, she was also actively engaged in the new field of observation and telescope technology under the inspiration of her "predecessors". "If you don't do it, no one will do it", this is what Director Shen Zhiqiang often says to young people, and it is also what young researchers are doing.
Caption: Zhao Shanshan moderates the discussion at the 2023 VLBI Symposium in East Asia Courtesy of the interviewee.
The persistence of choosing one thing in a lifetime is also the romance of the black hole imaging research team of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. "The Horizon Event Telescope (EHT) has proposed the next generation of EHT plans since the first black hole**, and we are actively participating in it, looking forward to making a louder 'voice of China' on the international astronomical stage. Shen Zhiqiang said. The western part of China is sunny and dry, with excellent observation conditions, and the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory is also actively deploying submillimeter-wave telescopes, in order to use "big equipment" to produce "big results": it can "make movies" for black holes.
Human beings, like black holes, are part of the vast universe and share a long or short period of time. Zhao Shanshan said seriously that the process of seeking truth is long and sometimes painful, but the value of scientific feedback is eternal and precious, just like a black hole.
Xinmin Evening News reporter Gao Yang.