Chinese research institutions: The first ever photograph of a black hole may not have been a black hole

Another explanation.

A black shadow "shot" by the Horizon Telescope at the center of the M87 galaxy. EHT

In 2019, the Horizon Telescope (EHT) announced that it had acquired the "shadow" left by a compact object at the center of the M87 galaxy with unprecedented precision. The prevailing view is that the object that leaves this shadow is a spinning black hole. But researchers from research institutions such as Peking University and the National Astronomical Observatory of China, two of whom are from Iran and India, believe that the shadow may not have been cast by a black hole.

The researchers believe that although the possibility that the object is a black hole cannot be ruled out, the size and shape of this "shadow" are also in line with the characteristics of "gravitomagnetic monopole".

The "gravitational magnetic monopole" currently exists only theoretically. Magnetic fields in nature are polarized. Divide a magnet in two, with two poles in each half. We've never seen a magnet with only one pole. But the charge is different: both positive and negative charges can exist independently.

In theoretical physics, gravity and electromagnetic forces, mass and charge are comparable. Therefore, scientists often refer to mass as "gravitoelectric charge". So since charges can exist independently in nature, is it okay to "gravitomagnetic charge", or "gravitomagnetic monopole"?

After studying the images of M87*, the researchers believe that the existence of such a "gravitational magnetic monopole" in the center of the M87 galaxy cannot be ruled out.

The paper was published in the European Journal of Physics (Volume C) on October 23. If you want to know the details, you can open the link in the "References" at the end of the article to read directly.

reference Investigating the existence of gravitomagnetic monopole in M87* https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140%2Fepjc%2Fs10052-021-09696-3