Papers, books, data archives and schools that we find useful. The list is far from complete, but we hope it helps students in our group and anyone starting out in radio astronomy and black hole astrophysics.
Reading list Textbooks Schools and lectures Literature and databases Data archives
Reading list
Papers that are widely read across the field, from classic theory and observations to recent reviews.
Near the black hole: accretion, spin and jet launching 15
- Shakura & Sunyaev (1973), Black holes in binary systems: observational appearance, A&A 24, 337 The standard thin accretion disk, the starting point for every later accretion model.
- Blandford & Znajek (1977), Electromagnetic extraction of energy from Kerr black holes, MNRAS 179, 433 How a spinning black hole threaded by magnetic field can give up its rotational energy as an electromagnetic outflow: the Blandford–Znajek process, still the leading idea for what powers jets.
- Blandford & Payne (1982), Hydromagnetic flows from accretion discs and the production of radio jets, MNRAS 199, 883 Jets launched magneto-centrifugally from the accretion disk along inclined field lines; the disk-driven counterpart to Blandford–Znajek.
- Narayan & Yi (1995), Advection-dominated accretion: underfed black holes and neutron stars, ApJ 452, 710 Hot, radiatively inefficient accretion flows in which most of the energy is carried into the black hole; the basic model for faint nuclei such as Sgr A* and M87.
- Narayan, Igumenshchev & Abramowicz (2003), Magnetically arrested disk: an energetically efficient accretion flow, PASJ 55, L69 When enough magnetic flux piles up near the black hole it halts the inflow: the magnetically arrested disk (MAD).
- Tchekhovskoy, Narayan & McKinney (2011), Efficient generation of jets from magnetically arrested accretion on a rapidly spinning black hole, MNRAS 418, L79 GRMHD simulations of magnetically arrested disks in which the jet carries away more power than the accreted rest mass supplies, drawn from the black hole spin.
- McKinney, Tchekhovskoy & Blandford (2012), General relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of magnetically choked accretion flows around black holes, MNRAS 423, 3083 Long GRMHD simulations of MAD flows for different spins: jet power, disk–jet interaction and variability.
- Review: Yuan & Narayan (2014), Hot accretion flows around black holes, ARA&A 52, 529 Theory and observations of hot accretion flows around black holes, from Sgr A* to low-luminosity AGN.
- Falcke, Melia & Agol (2000), Viewing the shadow of the black hole at the Galactic Center, ApJ 528, L13 The prediction that the shadow of the black hole in Sgr A* can be imaged with millimeter VLBI, the idea behind the EHT.
- Doeleman et al. (2008), Event-horizon-scale structure in the supermassive black hole candidate at the Galactic Centre, Nature 455, 78 The first detection of structure on event-horizon scales in Sgr A*, with 1.3 mm VLBI on three telescopes.
- Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2019), First M87 Event Horizon Telescope results. I. The shadow of the supermassive black hole, ApJL 875, L1 The first image of a black hole: the ring around M87*.
- Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2019), First M87 Event Horizon Telescope results. V. Physical origin of the asymmetric ring, ApJL 875, L5 How the M87 image is compared with a large library of GRMHD simulations, and what that says about the flow and the spin.
- Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2022), First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope results. I. The shadow of the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way, ApJL 930, L12 The image of the black hole at the center of our Galaxy.
- Lu et al. (2023), A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet, Nature 616, 686 The ring and the base of the jet of M87 imaged together at 3.5 mm, linking the accretion flow to the jet.
- Review: Hada, Asada, Nakamura & Kino (2024), M87: a cosmic laboratory for deciphering black hole accretion and jet formation, arXiv:2412.07083 What M87 has taught us about accretion and jet formation, from the event horizon to kiloparsec scales.
Jet acceleration and collimation 16
- Review: Blandford, Meier & Readhead (2019), Relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei, ARA&A 57, 467 A broad modern review of AGN jets, from history and observations to theory; its Figure 1 is the M87 montage on our Research page.
- Vlahakis & Königl (2004), Magnetic driving of relativistic outflows in active galactic nuclei. I. Interpretation of parsec-scale accelerations, ApJ 605, 656 Magnetic acceleration of AGN jets out to parsec scales, as an explanation of the accelerating features seen with VLBI.
- Komissarov et al. (2007), Magnetic acceleration of relativistic active galactic nucleus jets, MNRAS 380, 51 Simulations showing that magnetically driven jets accelerate gradually while they are being collimated by their surroundings.
- Lyubarsky (2009), Asymptotic structure of Poynting-dominated jets, ApJ 698, 1570 Analytic theory of how the external pressure profile sets the shape of a magnetically dominated jet and how fast it accelerates.
- Review: Mizuno (2022), GRMHD simulations and modeling for jet formation and acceleration region in AGNs, Universe 8, 85 How GRMHD simulations of jet formation and acceleration are compared with VLBI and EHT observations.
- Junor, Biretta & Livio (1999), Formation of the radio jet in M87 at 100 Schwarzschild radii from the central black hole, Nature 401, 891 VLBI image of the M87 jet base showing a wide opening angle within about 100 Schwarzschild radii, the first direct view of where the jet is collimated.
- Asada & Nakamura (2012), The structure of the M87 jet: a transition from parabolic to conical streamlines, ApJL 745, L28 The M87 jet is parabolic out to about the Bondi radius and conical beyond it, a collimation profile since measured in many other jets.
- Kim et al. (2018), The limb-brightened jet of M87 down to the 7 Schwarzschild radii scale, A&A 616, A188 GMVA images of the M87 jet base at 86 GHz: the jet is already limb-brightened and wide close to the black hole (our work).
- Walker et al. (2018), The structure and dynamics of the subparsec jet in M87 based on 50 VLBA observations over 17 years at 43 GHz, ApJ 855, 128 Seventeen years of VLBA monitoring of M87 at 43 GHz: jet structure, limb brightening, speeds and the counter-jet.
- Mertens et al. (2016), Kinematics of the jet in M 87 on scales of 100–1000 Schwarzschild radii, A&A 595, A54 Wavelet-based velocity field of the M87 jet: gradual acceleration and a stratified, possibly rotating flow.
- Lister et al. (2009), MOJAVE. VI. Kinematics analysis of a complete sample of blazar jets, AJ 138, 1874 Speeds of jet features from the MOJAVE 15 GHz VLBA monitoring of a complete sample of blazars: the reference statistics of superluminal motion.
- Jorstad et al. (2017), Kinematics of parsec-scale jets of gamma-ray blazars at 43 GHz within the VLBA-BU-BLAZAR program, ApJ 846, 98 Kinematics of the jets of gamma-ray blazars from roughly monthly 43 GHz VLBA monitoring.
- Pushkarev et al. (2009), Jet opening angles and gamma-ray brightness of AGN, A&A 507, L33 Apparent and intrinsic jet opening angles for MOJAVE jets, and why gamma-ray bright jets look wider.
- Homan et al. (2015), MOJAVE. XII. Acceleration and collimation of blazar jets on parsec scales, ApJ 798, 134 Accelerating and decelerating jet features across a large sample, showing that acceleration continues out to parsec scales.
- Kovalev et al. (2020), A transition from parabolic to conical shape as a common effect in nearby AGN jets, MNRAS 495, 3576 The parabolic-to-conical transition seen in M87 turns out to be common among nearby jets.
- Review: Boccardi et al. (2017), Radio observations of active galactic nuclei with mm-VLBI, A&ARv 25, 4 Millimeter VLBI of AGN: jet bases, collimation and magnetic fields, and what future arrays can add.
Shocks, recollimation, hot spots and lobe formation 10
- Marscher & Gear (1985), Models for high-frequency radio outbursts in extragalactic sources, with application to the early 1983 millimeter-to-infrared flare of 3C 273, ApJ 298, 114 The shock-in-jet model: a shock moving down the jet explains how radio-to-infrared flares evolve.
- Hughes, Aller & Aller (1985), Polarized radio outbursts in BL Lacertae. II. The flux and polarization of a piston-driven shock, ApJ 298, 301 Shocks that compress the jet's magnetic field explain the flux and polarization changes during radio outbursts.
- Daly & Marscher (1988), The gasdynamics of compact relativistic jets, ApJ 334, 539 When jet pressure and external pressure differ, the jet over- and under-expands and forms a chain of recollimation shocks; stationary knots as standing shocks.
- Gómez et al. (1997), Hydrodynamical models of superluminal sources, ApJ 482, L33 Relativistic hydrodynamic simulations with emission: moving shocks interacting with standing recollimation shocks, as seen in VLBI movies.
- Stawarz et al. (2006), Dynamics and high-energy emission of the flaring HST-1 knot in the M 87 jet, MNRAS 370, 981 HST-1 in the M87 jet as a recollimation shock, and its flares from radio to TeV energies.
- Mizuno et al. (2015), Recollimation shocks in magnetized relativistic jets, ApJ 809, 38 How the magnetic field changes the structure and strength of recollimation shocks, in relativistic MHD simulations.
- Blandford & Rees (1974), A 'twin-exhaust' model for double radio sources, MNRAS 169, 395 The idea that continuous beams from the nucleus feed the two radio lobes.
- Scheuer (1974), Models of extragalactic radio sources with a continuous energy supply from a central object, MNRAS 166, 513 How a jet drives into the surrounding gas, ending in a hot spot and inflating a cocoon: the basic picture of lobe formation.
- Begelman & Cioffi (1989), Overpressured cocoons in extragalactic radio sources, ApJ 345, L21 The cocoon around a powerful jet expands sideways because it is overpressured, which sets the growth of radio sources.
- Kaiser & Alexander (1997), A self-similar model for extragalactic radio sources, MNRAS 286, 215 A simple self-similar model for how FR II sources grow with time, widely used to estimate ages and jet powers.
Radio galaxies on large scales: FR classes, jets and lobes 10
- Fanaroff & Riley (1974), The morphology of extragalactic radio sources of high and low luminosity, MNRAS 167, 31P The FR I / FR II division: edge-darkened, lower-power sources versus edge-brightened, higher-power ones.
- Begelman, Blandford & Rees (1984), Theory of extragalactic radio sources, Rev. Mod. Phys. 56, 255 The classic review of how radio galaxies and quasars work, from the central engine through the jets to the hot spots and lobes.
- Bicknell (1995), Relativistic jets and the Fanaroff-Riley classification of radio galaxies, ApJS 101, 29 FR I jets as relativistic flows that slow down by entraining gas, and why this depends on jet power and host galaxy.
- Laing & Bridle (2002), Relativistic models and the jet velocity field in the radio galaxy 3C 31, MNRAS 336, 328 Deceleration of an FR I jet measured by modeling the brightness of jet and counter-jet: a template for later work.
- Laing & Bridle (2014), Systematic properties of decelerating relativistic jets in low-luminosity radio galaxies, MNRAS 437, 3405 The same modeling applied to ten FR I jets: they start relativistic, decelerate over a few kiloparsecs and share a common velocity and magnetic-field structure.
- Harris & Krawczynski (2006), X-ray emission from extragalactic jets, ARA&A 44, 463 Kiloparsec-scale jets in X-rays with Chandra: synchrotron or inverse-Compton, and what it implies for particle acceleration.
- Review: Hardcastle & Croston (2020), Radio galaxies and feedback from AGN jets, New Astron. Rev. 88, 101539 Radio galaxies today: jets, lobes, particle content and their feedback on host galaxies and clusters.
- Condon et al. (1998), The NRAO VLA Sky Survey, AJ 115, 1693 NVSS, the 1.4 GHz survey of the sky north of declination −40°, still a basic reference for radio sources.
- Shimwell et al. (2022), The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey. V. Second data release, A&A 659, A1 LoTSS DR2: 144 MHz images of more than a quarter of the northern sky with millions of radio sources.
- Mingo et al. (2019), Revisiting the Fanaroff–Riley dichotomy and radio-galaxy morphology with the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS), MNRAS 488, 2701 With thousands of LOFAR sources, FR I and FR II overlap widely in luminosity, so environment and host matter as much as jet power.
AGN and their host galaxies: unification, coevolution and feedback 11
- Urry & Padovani (1995), Unified schemes for radio-loud active galactic nuclei, PASP 107, 803 The unified scheme: radio galaxies, quasars and blazars as the same kind of object seen from different angles.
- Review: Padovani et al. (2017), Active galactic nuclei: what's in a name?, A&ARv 25, 2 A guide to the many classes of AGN and a physically based classification into jetted and non-jetted sources.
- Magorrian et al. (1998), The demography of massive dark objects in galaxy centers, AJ 115, 2285 Black hole masses scale with the mass of the host bulge: most galaxies host a supermassive black hole.
- Ferrarese & Merritt (2000), A fundamental relation between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, ApJ 539, L9 The tight relation between black hole mass and the velocity dispersion of the host bulge.
- Gebhardt et al. (2000), A relationship between nuclear black hole mass and galaxy velocity dispersion, ApJ 539, L13 The same relation found independently, published side by side with Ferrarese & Merritt.
- Review: Kormendy & Ho (2013), Coevolution (or not) of supermassive black holes and host galaxies, ARA&A 51, 511 The scaling relations between black hole mass and host galaxy, and what they say about coevolution.
- Best et al. (2005), The host galaxies of radio-loud active galactic nuclei: mass dependences, gas cooling and active galactic nuclei feedback, MNRAS 362, 25 The fraction of galaxies with radio-loud AGN rises steeply with their mass, pointing to fuelling by hot gas and to feedback.
- Croton et al. (2006), The many lives of active galactic nuclei: cooling flows, black holes and the luminosities and colours of galaxies, MNRAS 365, 11 Radio-mode feedback in a galaxy formation model: jets that stop gas cooling explain why massive galaxies stop forming stars.
- Review: McNamara & Nulsen (2007), Heating hot atmospheres with active galactic nuclei, ARA&A 45, 117 Cavities and shocks inflated by radio jets in galaxy clusters, and the energy they put into the hot gas.
- Review: Fabian (2012), Observational evidence of active galactic nuclei feedback, ARA&A 50, 455 The observational case for AGN feedback, in both its radiative and its jet (kinetic) modes.
- Review: Heckman & Best (2014), The coevolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes: insights from surveys of the contemporary universe, ARA&A 52, 589 AGN in the nearby universe from large surveys: radiative and jet-mode AGN and their feedback on galaxies.
Relativistic beaming, brightness temperature and core shift 10
- Blandford & Königl (1979), Relativistic jets as compact radio sources, ApJ 232, 34 The standard picture of the compact radio core as the self-absorbed base of a relativistic jet, which explains flat radio spectra and apparent superluminal motion.
- Kellermann & Pauliny-Toth (1969), The spectra of opaque radio sources, ApJ 155, L71 Why the brightness temperature of an incoherent synchrotron source cannot stay much above about 1012 K: beyond that, inverse-Compton losses run away (the inverse-Compton catastrophe).
- Readhead (1994), Equipartition brightness temperature and the inverse Compton catastrophe, ApJ 426, 51 Sources near equipartition between particles and magnetic field should sit at about 1011 K, so much higher measured values point to Doppler boosting.
- Lobanov (1998), Ultracompact jets in active galactic nuclei, A&A 330, 79 The core shift: the self-absorbed jet base appears at different positions at different frequencies, and the shift gives the magnetic field and the distance to the jet apex.
- Kovalev et al. (2005), Sub-milliarcsecond imaging of quasars and active galactic nuclei. IV. Fine-scale structure, AJ 130, 2473 Sizes and brightness temperatures of the cores of hundreds of AGN from the 15 GHz VLBA survey; many are far above the equipartition value, a direct sign of relativistic beaming. A good paper to learn how VLBI brightness temperatures are measured and interpreted.
- Homan et al. (2006), Intrinsic brightness temperatures of AGN jets, ApJ 642, L115 Combining brightness temperatures with measured jet speeds gives the intrinsic value: close to equipartition in the median state, higher during flares.
- Cohen et al. (2007), Relativistic beaming and the intrinsic properties of extragalactic radio jets, ApJ 658, 232 What apparent speeds and luminosities of VLBI jets tell us about Lorentz factors, viewing angles and beaming in flux-limited samples.
- Hovatta et al. (2009), Doppler factors, Lorentz factors and viewing angles for quasars, BL Lacertae objects and radio galaxies, A&A 494, 527 Doppler factors from the timescales of 37 GHz flares at Metsähovi, combined with VLBI jet speeds, for a large sample of AGN.
- Hada et al. (2011), An origin of the radio jet in M87 at the location of the central black hole, Nature 477, 185 The core shift of M87 measured over many frequencies places the black hole within about 20 Schwarzschild radii of the 43 GHz core.
- Pushkarev et al. (2012), MOJAVE IX. Nuclear opacity, A&A 545, A113 Core shifts for a large MOJAVE sample and the magnetic fields they imply near the jet base.
Polarization and magnetic fields 5
- Zavala & Taylor (2004), A view through Faraday's fog. II. Parsec-scale rotation measures in 40 active galactic nuclei, ApJ 612, 749 Multi-frequency VLBA polarimetry of 40 AGN: how Faraday rotation is measured on parsec scales and what it says about the plasma around jets.
- Lister & Homan (2005), MOJAVE I. First-epoch 15 GHz linear polarization images, AJ 130, 1389 Linear polarization of a complete sample of blazar jets at 15 GHz: fractional polarization and magnetic-field orientation in cores and jets.
- Hovatta et al. (2012), MOJAVE VIII. Faraday rotation in parsec-scale AGN jets, AJ 144, 105 Rotation measures for a large MOJAVE sample, including gradients across jets that may trace helical magnetic fields.
- Blinov et al. (2015), RoboPol: first season rotations of optical polarization plane in blazars, MNRAS 453, 1669 Rotations of the optical polarization angle in a monitored sample of blazars, with hints of a link to gamma-ray flares.
- Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2021), First M87 Event Horizon Telescope results. VII. Polarization of the ring, ApJL 910, L12 The first polarized image of a black hole: ordered magnetic fields in the ring around M87*.
Emission models of jets and blazars 5
- Maraschi, Ghisellini & Celotti (1992), A jet model for the gamma-ray emitting blazar 3C 279, ApJ 397, L5 Synchrotron self-Compton emission from the jet as the origin of the gamma rays of a blazar.
- Dermer & Schlickeiser (1993), Model for the high-energy emission from blazars, ApJ 416, 458 External Compton emission: jet electrons scatter photons from the accretion disk up to gamma-ray energies.
- Sikora, Begelman & Rees (1994), Comptonization of diffuse ambient radiation by a relativistic jet: the source of gamma rays from blazars?, ApJ 421, 153 The same idea with photons from the broad-line region, now a standard ingredient of blazar models.
- Ghisellini & Tavecchio (2009), Canonical high-power blazars, MNRAS 397, 985 A one-zone leptonic model with all the main external photon fields (disk, corona, broad-line region, dusty torus) written out step by step; a practical starting point for fitting blazar spectra.
- Böttcher et al. (2013), Leptonic and hadronic modeling of Fermi-detected blazars, ApJ 768, 54 Leptonic and hadronic models fitted to the same blazars, and what each requires; useful background for the neutrino question.
Variability and the multi-wavelength view 9
- Review: Ulrich, Maraschi & Urry (1997), Variability of active galactic nuclei, ARA&A 35, 445 The classic review of AGN variability from radio to gamma rays, and what it tells us about sizes and emission mechanisms.
- Marscher et al. (2008), The inner jet of an active galactic nucleus as revealed by a radio-to-γ-ray outburst, Nature 452, 966 A rotating optical polarization angle during a flare of BL Lacertae, tracing a helical magnetic field in the region where the jet is accelerated.
- Abdo et al. (2010), The spectral energy distribution of Fermi bright blazars, ApJ 716, 30 Broadband spectral energy distributions of Fermi-bright blazars, the reference for the two-hump synchrotron and inverse-Compton spectrum.
- Hovatta et al. (2008), Long-term radio variability of AGN: flare characteristics, A&A 485, 51 Decades of Metsähovi and University of Michigan monitoring: how often radio flares occur, how long they last and how strong they are.
- Abdo et al. (2010), Gamma-ray light curves and variability of bright Fermi-detected blazars, ApJ 722, 520 Gamma-ray variability of the brightest Fermi blazars: power spectra and flare profiles.
- Richards et al. (2011), Blazars in the Fermi era: the OVRO 40 m telescope monitoring program, ApJS 194, 29 Twice-weekly 15 GHz light curves of about 1,500 blazars, and how radio variability relates to gamma-ray detection.
- Fuhrmann et al. (2014), Detection of significant cm to sub-mm band radio and γ-ray correlated variability in Fermi bright blazars, MNRAS 441, 1899 F-GAMMA monitoring from centimeter to submillimeter wavelengths: radio and gamma-ray flares are correlated, with delays that shrink toward shorter wavelengths.
- Fuhrmann et al. (2016), The F-GAMMA programme: multi-frequency study of active galactic nuclei in the Fermi era, A&A 596, A45 The F-GAMMA program: monthly radio spectra of Fermi blazars from 2.6 to 345 GHz with Effelsberg, IRAM 30 m and APEX.
- Max-Moerbeck et al. (2014), Time correlation between the radio and gamma-ray activity in blazars and the production site of the gamma-ray emission, MNRAS 445, 428 Radio–gamma-ray cross-correlations done carefully, with significance from simulated light curves, and what the time lags say about where gamma rays are made.
Very-high-energy gamma rays and rapid variability 5
- Aharonian et al. (H.E.S.S. Collaboration, 2006), Fast variability of tera-electron volt γ rays from the radio galaxy M87, Science 314, 1424 TeV gamma rays from M87 that vary within days, so the emitting region must be very compact, close to the black hole or in a compact jet feature.
- Aharonian et al. (H.E.S.S. Collaboration, 2007), An exceptional very high energy gamma-ray flare of PKS 2155-304, ApJ 664, L71 TeV flux doubling within minutes in a blazar, which requires very high Doppler factors or emission from regions much smaller than the black hole.
- Acciari et al. (VERITAS, VLBA 43 GHz M87 Monitoring Team, H.E.S.S. and MAGIC, 2009), Radio imaging of the very-high-energy γ-ray emission region in the central engine of a radio galaxy, Science 325, 444 A TeV flare of M87 accompanied by a rise of the radio core in VLBA 43 GHz images, locating the gamma rays near the black hole.
- Aleksić et al. (MAGIC Collaboration, 2014), Black hole lightning due to particle acceleration at subhorizon scales, Science 346, 1080 TeV variability of the radio galaxy IC 310 on minute timescales, shorter than the light-crossing time of its black hole, explained by particle acceleration in a magnetospheric gap.
- Review: Rieger & Levinson (2018), Radio galaxies at VHE energies, Galaxies 6, 116 Very-high-energy gamma rays from M87, Centaurus A, NGC 1275 and IC 310: observations, variability and the models proposed for them.
Multi-messenger astrophysics (mostly neutrinos) 7
- IceCube Collaboration (2013), Evidence for high-energy extraterrestrial neutrinos at the IceCube detector, Science 342, 1242856 The first evidence for high-energy neutrinos from beyond the Solar System.
- IceCube Collaboration et al. (2018), Multimessenger observations of a flaring blazar coincident with high-energy neutrino IceCube-170922A, Science 361, eaat1378 A neutrino that arrived during a gamma-ray flare of the blazar TXS 0506+056, the first association of a high-energy neutrino with a source.
- IceCube Collaboration (2018), Neutrino emission from the direction of the blazar TXS 0506+056 prior to the IceCube-170922A alert, Science 361, 147 An earlier excess of neutrinos from TXS 0506+056 in 2014–2015, found in archival data.
- Plavin et al. (2020), Observational evidence for the origin of high-energy neutrinos in parsec-scale nuclei of radio-bright active galaxies, ApJ 894, 101 A statistical link between IceCube neutrinos and the VLBI-bright cores of blazars.
- IceCube Collaboration (2022), Evidence for neutrino emission from the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068, Science 378, 538 Neutrinos from the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, far brighter than its gamma rays, which points to a source hidden deep in the nucleus.
- Review: Mészáros (2017), Astrophysical sources of high-energy neutrinos in the IceCube era, Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 67, 45 Candidate sources of high-energy neutrinos and how the neutrinos are produced.
- Review, for the gravitational-wave side: Margutti & Chornock (2021), First multimessenger observations of a neutron star merger, ARA&A 59, 155 (GW170817) GW170817, the neutron star merger seen in gravitational waves and across the electromagnetic spectrum, including its relativistic jet.
Black holes in the early universe and small black holes 3
- Bogdán et al. (2024), Evidence for heavy-seed origin of early supermassive black holes from a z ≈ 10 X-ray quasar, Nature Astronomy 8, 126 UHZ1, an X-ray quasar at redshift about 10, whose black hole is as massive as its host's stars, a sign of heavy seeds.
- Review: Inayoshi, Visbal & Haiman (2020), The assembly of the first massive black holes, ARA&A 58, 27 How the first massive black holes formed and grew so quickly: light and heavy seeds.
- Review: Greene, Strader & Ho (2020), Intermediate-mass black holes, ARA&A 58, 257 The search for intermediate-mass black holes in dwarf galaxies, star clusters and elsewhere.
Technical: imaging, calibration, modeling and statistics 14
- Jennison (1958), A phase sensitive interferometer technique for the measurement of the Fourier transforms of spatial brightness distributions of small angular extent, MNRAS 118, 276 Closure phase: a combination of visibility phases that is immune to antenna-based errors, the basis of VLBI imaging.
- Högbom (1974), Aperture synthesis with a non-regular distribution of interferometer baselines, A&AS 15, 417 The CLEAN algorithm, still the standard way to make images from interferometer data.
- Pearson & Readhead (1984), Image formation by self-calibration in radio astronomy, ARA&A 22, 97 Self-calibration, the technique that makes high-quality VLBI images possible.
- Akiyama et al. (2017), Imaging the Schwarzschild-radius-scale structure of M87 with the Event Horizon Telescope using sparse modeling, ApJ 838, 1 Sparse modeling (regularized maximum likelihood) for EHT imaging, tested on simulated M87 data.
- Chael et al. (2018), Interferometric imaging directly with closure phases and closure amplitudes, ApJ 857, 23 Imaging from closure quantities alone, avoiding most calibration errors; the method behind eht-imaging.
- Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2019), First M87 Event Horizon Telescope results. IV. Imaging the central supermassive black hole, ApJL 875, L4 How the first EHT image was made and tested with independent imaging methods.
- Martí-Vidal et al. (2021), Polarization calibration techniques for the new-generation VLBI, A&A 646, A52 Polarization calibration for modern VLBI, with the CASA tools PolSolve and PolSimulate.
- Review: Janssen, Radcliffe & Wagner (2022), Software and techniques for VLBI data processing and analysis, Universe 8, 527 An overview of the software used to process and analyze VLBI data today.
- Edelson & Krolik (1988), The discrete correlation function: a new method for analyzing unevenly sampled variability data, ApJ 333, 646 The discrete correlation function, the standard way to cross-correlate unevenly sampled light curves.
- Vaughan et al. (2003), On characterizing the variability properties of X-ray light curves from active galaxies, MNRAS 345, 1271 Power spectra, excess variance and their uncertainties for red-noise light curves; applies well beyond X-rays.
- Emmanoulopoulos, McHardy & Papadakis (2013), Generating artificial light curves: revisited and updated, MNRAS 433, 907 How to simulate red-noise light curves with a realistic flux distribution, needed to judge whether a correlation or a periodicity is significant.
- Scargle et al. (2013), Studies in astronomical time series analysis. VI. Bayesian block representations, ApJ 764, 167 Bayesian blocks: an objective way to find flares and changes in light curves.
- VanderPlas (2018), Understanding the Lomb–Scargle periodogram, ApJS 236, 16 A practical guide to periodograms for unevenly sampled data, and their pitfalls.
- Foreman-Mackey et al. (2013), emcee: the MCMC hammer, PASP 125, 306 The widely used MCMC sampler for fitting models to data.
Machine learning and deep learning in astronomy 7
- Review: Ball & Brunner (2010), Data mining and machine learning in astronomy, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 19, 1049 An early, broad overview of machine-learning methods and where they are used in astronomy.
- Review: Fluke & Jacobs (2020), Surveying the reach and maturity of machine learning and artificial intelligence in astronomy, WIREs Data Min. Knowl. Discov. 10, e1349 Where machine learning is actually used across astronomy, and how mature each application is.
- Review: Huertas-Company & Lanusse (2023), The Dawes Review 10: the impact of deep learning for the analysis of galaxy surveys, PASA 40, e001 Deep learning for galaxy surveys: classification, detection, inference and the pitfalls to watch for.
- Review: Smith & Geach (2023), Astronomia ex machina: a history, primer and outlook on neural networks in astronomy, R. Soc. Open Sci. 10, 221454 A readable history and primer on neural networks in astronomy, from early perceptrons to foundation models.
- Aniyan & Thorat (2017), Classifying radio galaxies with the convolutional neural network, ApJS 230, 20 One of the first convolutional neural networks for sorting radio galaxies into FR I, FR II and bent-tailed sources.
- Lukic et al. (2018), Radio Galaxy Zoo: compact and extended radio source classification with deep learning, MNRAS 476, 246 Deep learning trained on citizen-science labels from Radio Galaxy Zoo to classify radio source morphologies.
- Mostert et al. (2021), Unveiling the rarest morphologies of the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey radio source population with self-organised maps, A&A 645, A89 Unsupervised learning on LoTSS images to find rare and unusual radio morphologies among hundreds of thousands of sources.
Textbooks
Radio astronomy and interferometry
- Burke, Graham-Smith & Wilkinson, An Introduction to Radio Astronomy, 4th ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2019) A readable introduction to radio telescopes, emission processes and radio sources, for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students.
- Wilson, Rohlfs & Hüttemeister, Tools of Radio Astronomy, 6th ed. (Springer, 2013) The practical textbook on radio telescopes, receivers and observing techniques, including spectroscopy.
- Condon & Ransom, Essential Radio Astronomy (Princeton University Press, 2016), free online A graduate course from NRAO: radiometers, emission mechanisms and the basics of interferometry.
- Thompson, Moran & Swenson, Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy, 3rd ed. (Springer, 2017), open access The reference on interferometry and aperture synthesis, from the theory of visibilities to VLBI.
- Taylor, Carilli & Perley (eds.), Synthesis Imaging in Radio Astronomy II (ASP Conf. Ser. 180, 1999) The classic lecture notes of the NRAO Synthesis Imaging School: calibration, imaging and everything in between.
- Zensus, Diamond & Napier (eds.), Very Long Baseline Interferometry and the VLBA (ASP Conf. Ser. 82, 1995), free online Lectures of the 1993 VLBA summer school; still one of the best introductions to how VLBI works.
- Middelberg & Bach (2008), High resolution radio astronomy using very long baseline interferometry, Rep. Prog. Phys. 71, 066901 A compact introduction to VLBI, from the technique to the science.
Radiation, jets and AGN
- Rybicki & Lightman, Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (Wiley, 1979) The standard graduate text on radiation: radiative transfer, synchrotron emission, Compton scattering and bremsstrahlung.
- Pacholczyk, Radio Astrophysics: Nonthermal Processes in Galactic and Extragalactic Sources (Freeman, 1970) The classic source of formulas for synchrotron emission, absorption and polarization used to model radio sources.
- Ghisellini, Radiative Processes in High Energy Astrophysics (Lecture Notes in Physics 873, Springer, 2013) Compact lecture notes on high-energy radiation processes, written with jets and blazars in mind.
- Longair, High Energy Astrophysics, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2011) A broad textbook on high-energy astrophysics: particles, radiation, cosmic rays, AGN and jets.
- Böttcher, Harris & Krawczynski (eds.), Relativistic Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei (Wiley-VCH, 2012) Review chapters on jet observations and theory, from radio to gamma rays.
- Hughes (ed.), Beams and Jets in Astrophysics (Cambridge University Press, 1991) Includes Birkinshaw's classic chapter on the stability of jets.
- Meier, Black Hole Astrophysics: The Engine Paradigm (Springer, 2012) A graduate text on black hole engines: accretion, magnetohydrodynamics and jet launching.
- Peterson, An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei (Cambridge University Press, 1997) A short and readable introduction to AGN, especially emission lines and reverberation mapping.
- Netzer, The Physics and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei (Cambridge University Press, 2013) A graduate text on the physics and evolution of AGN, from accretion disks to surveys.
Getting started: astronomy, galaxies and cosmology
- Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit, The Cosmic Perspective (Pearson) A very readable introduction to astronomy, also for students from other fields.
- Carroll & Ostlie, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2017) The comprehensive undergraduate astrophysics textbook, from stars to cosmology.
- Sparke & Gallagher, Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2007) An introduction to the Milky Way and other galaxies: structure, dynamics and evolution.
- Schneider, Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology: An Introduction, 2nd ed. (Springer, 2015) Galaxies, AGN, clusters, gravitational lensing and cosmology at an advanced undergraduate level.
- Ryden, Introduction to Cosmology, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2016) A short and clear introduction to cosmology.
- Mo, van den Bosch & White, Galaxy Formation and Evolution (Cambridge University Press, 2010) The graduate reference on the theory of galaxy formation.
Schools and lectures
- NRAO Synthesis Imaging Workshop: the biennial school on radio interferometry; lectures from past workshops are online, e.g. 2018
- NRAO learning resources: tutorials and courses on radio astronomy and data reduction
- European Radio Interferometry School (ERIS), e.g. ERIS 2022 and ERIS 2026
Literature and databases
- NASA ADS: the literature database of astronomy; set up your own ADS account and libraries
- arXiv astro-ph: new preprints, every weekday
- NED: the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
- SIMBAD and VizieR: object database and published catalogs (CDS, Strasbourg)
Data archives
Radio and millimeter
- NRAO Data Archive: VLA, VLBA and GBT data
- ALMA Science Archive and ALMA Calibrator Source Catalogue: flux-density history of ALMA calibrators
- SMA Calibrator List: submillimeter flux densities of bright compact sources
- MOJAVE: VLBA 15 GHz monitoring of AGN jets
- Boston University Blazar Research Group: VLBA 43 GHz monitoring of gamma-ray blazars
- Astrogeo VLBI database: VLBI calibrators and images
- OVRO 40 m blazar monitoring: 15 GHz light curves of blazars
- Metsähovi Radio Observatory: long-term 37 GHz monitoring of AGN
- LOFAR Surveys (LoTSS), CASDA (ASKAP surveys such as RACS) and CIRADA (VLASS)
Optical and time domain
- DESI data releases: spectra of millions of galaxies and quasars
- ZTF (at IRSA): optical light curves of the northern sky
- ASAS-SN: all-sky optical light curves (Sky Patrol)
High energy and multi-messenger
- Fermi LAT Light Curve Repository: gamma-ray light curves of bright sources
- General Coordinates Network (GCN): real-time alerts, including IceCube neutrinos
For graduate school and careers, see For Students.
The manuals, memos and pictures of the 2.3m radio telescope at Kyungpook National University are on the 2.3m radio telescope page.