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Published Online July 2, 2009
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1175406

Reports

Submitted on April 24, 2009
Accepted on June 24, 2009

Radio Imaging of the Very-High-Energy {gamma}-Ray Emission Region in the Central Engine of a Radio Galaxy

The VERITAS Collaboration , The VLBA 43 GHz M 87 Monitoring Team , The H.E.S.S. Collaboration , The MAGIC Collaboration *,{dagger},

* The full list of authors and affiliations is presented at the end of the paper.

{dagger} Authors for correspondence: M. Beilicke (beilicke@physics.wustl.edu), H. Krawczynski (krawcz@wuphys.wustl.edu), VERITAS; R. C. Walker (cwalker@aoc.nrao.edu), P. E. Hardee (phardee@bama.ua.edu), VLBA; M. Raue (martin.raue@mpi-hd.mpg.de), H.E.S.S.; D. Mazin (mazin@ifae.es), R. M. Wagner (robert.wagner@mpp.mpg.de), MAGIC

The accretion of matter onto a massive black hole is believed to feed the relativistic plasma jets found in many active galactic nuclei (AGN). Although some AGN accelerate particles to energies exceeding 1012 electron Volts (eV) and are bright sources of very-high-energy (VHE) {gamma}-ray emission, it is not yet known where the VHE emission originates. Here, we report on radio and VHE observations of the radio galaxy M 87, revealing a period of extremely strong VHE {gamma}-ray flares accompanied by a strong increase of the radio flux from its nucleus. These results imply that charged particles are accelerated to very high energies in the immediate vicinity of the black hole.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
A Flare for Acceleration.
M. Begelman (2009)
Science 325, 399-400
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)