Observable level consistency of M87* and Sgr A* from EHT ring diameters: a minimal forward model

We develop a fully reproducible observable level framework to test horizon scale models with Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) ring diameter constraints for M87* and Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Rather than reanalyzing interferometric visibilities, we use EHT data products for the ring diameter [Formula: see text] and the calibrated gravitational angular scale [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and map them to a baseline general relativity shadow diameter prediction. We quantify any net mismatch between the observed ring diameter and the baseline shadow scale by an effective shift parameter [Formula: see text] – 1, which aggregates emission and propagation effects at the observable level without specifying a microscopic plasma model. Calibration uncertainty in [Formula: see text] is propagated by treating [Formula: see text] as a nuisance parameter constrained by EHT and marginalizing it in the likelihood, including a split normal representation for asymmetric errors. Using EHT constraints, we obtain [Formula: see text] = 0.064±0.135 and [Formula: see text] = 0.038±0.232, both consistent with [Formula: see text] = 0 within current uncertainties. We further provide joint constraints in a common difference parameterization enabling compact cross target consistency tests that can be straightforwardly updated as improved EHT constraints become available.

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Publication Details

Journal
Modern Physics Letters A
Published
2026-05-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1142/s0217732326501622
Primary Topic
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Observable level consistency of M87* and Sgr A* from EHT ring diameters: a minimal forward model

Pardeep Singh Bains, Chetansinh R. Vaghela, Rasulbek Eshmetov, Zokir Ataullaev et al.
Modern Physics Letters A
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
article

Observable level consistency of M87* and Sgr A* from EHT ring diameters: a minimal forward model

Pardeep Singh Bains, Chetansinh R. Vaghela, Rasulbek Eshmetov, Zokir Ataullaev, Seif Al Bustanji, Sanjeev Kumar, M. Surya Prakash Reddy, Hussein Aayd Hussein
article en

Abstract

We develop a fully reproducible observable level framework to test horizon scale models with Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) ring diameter constraints for M87* and Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Rather than reanalyzing interferometric visibilities, we use EHT data products for the ring diameter [Formula: see text] and the calibrated gravitational angular scale [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and map them to a baseline general relativity shadow diameter prediction. We quantify any net mismatch between the observed ring diameter and the baseline shadow scale by an effective shift parameter [Formula: see text] – 1, which aggregates emission and propagation effects at the observable level without specifying a microscopic plasma model. Calibration uncertainty in [Formula: see text] is propagated by treating [Formula: see text] as a nuisance parameter constrained by EHT and marginalizing it in the likelihood, including a split normal representation for asymmetric errors. Using EHT constraints, we obtain [Formula: see text] = 0.064±0.135 and [Formula: see text] = 0.038±0.232, both consistent with [Formula: see text] = 0 within current uncertainties. We further provide joint constraints in a common difference parameterization enabling compact cross target consistency tests that can be straightforwardly updated as improved EHT constraints become available.

Modern Physics Letters A
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
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Observable level consistency of M87* and Sgr A* from EHT ring diameters: a minimal forward model — Pardeep Singh Bains, Chetansinh R. Vaghela, et al. · Modern Physics Letters A (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS