Hot Accretion Research Articles

Study of relativistic hot accretion flow around Kerr-like wormhole

We investigate the structure of relativistic, low-angular momentum, inviscid advective accretion flow in a stationary axisymmetric Kerr-like wormhole (WH) spacetime, characterized by the spin parameter (a k), the dimensionless parameter (β), and the source mass (M WH). In doing so, we self-consistently solve the set of governing equations describing the relativistic accretion flow around a Kerr-like WH in the steady state, and for the first time, we obtain all possible classes of global accretion solutions for transonic as well as subsonic flows. We study the properties of dynamical and thermodynamical flow variables and examine how the nature of the accretion solutions alters due to the change of the model parameters, namely energy (ℰ), angular momentum (λ), a k, and β. Further, we separate the parameter space in λ-ℰ plane according to the nature of the flow solutions, and study the modification of the parameter space by varying a k and β. Moreover, we retrace the parameter space in a k-β plane that allows accretion solutions containing multiple critical points. Finally, we calculate the disc luminosity (L) considering free-free emissions for transonic solutions as these solutions are astrophysically relevant and discuss the implication of this model formalism in the context of astrophysical applications.

Magnetized Accretion onto and Feedback from Supermassive Black Holes in Elliptical Galaxies

We present 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the fueling of supermassive black holes in elliptical galaxies from a turbulent cooling medium on galactic scales, taking M87* as a typical case. We find that the mass accretion rate is increased by a factor of ∼10 compared with analogous hydrodynamic simulations. The scaling of Ṁ∼r1/2 roughly holds from ∼10 pc to ∼10−3 pc (∼10 r g) with the accretion rate through the event horizon being ∼10−2 M ⊙ yr−1. The accretion flow on scales ∼0.03–3 kpc takes the form of magnetized filaments. Within ∼30 pc, the cold gas circularizes, forming a highly magnetized (β ∼ 10−3) thick disk supported by a primarily toroidal magnetic field. The cold disk is truncated and transitions to a turbulent hot accretion flow at ∼0.3 pc (103 r g). There are strong outflows toward the poles driven by the magnetic field. The outflow energy flux increases with smaller accretor size, reaching ∼3 × 1043 erg s−1 for r in = 8 r g; this corresponds to a nearly constant energy feedback efficiency of η ∼ 0.05–0.1 independent of accretor size. The feedback energy is enough to balance the total cooling of the M87/Virgo hot halo out to ∼50 kpc. The accreted magnetic flux at small radii is similar to that in magnetically arrested disk models, consistent with the formation of a powerful jet on horizon scales in M87. Our results motivate a subgrid model for accretion in lower-resolution simulations in which the hot gas accretion rate is suppressed relative to the Bondi rate by ∼(10rg/rB)1/2 .

Hot gas accretion fuels star formation faster than cold accretion in high-redshift galaxies

ABSTRACT We use high-resolution ($\simeq$35pc) hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation to investigate the relation between gas accretion and star formation in galaxies hosted by dark matter haloes of mass $10^{12}$${{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }}$ at $z = 2$. At high-redshift, cold-accreted gas is expected to be readily available for star formation, while gas accreted in a hot mode is expected to require a longer time to cool down before being able to form stars. Contrary to these expectations, we find that the majority of cold-accreted gas takes several hundred Myr longer to form stars than hot-accreted gas after it reaches the inner circumgalactic medium (CGM). Approximately 10 per cent of the cold-accreted gas flows rapidly through the inner CGM on to the galactic disc. The remaining 90 per cent is trapped in a turbulent accretion region that extends up to $\sim 50$ per cent of the virial radius, from which it takes several hundred Myr for the gas to be transported to the star-forming disc. In contrast, most hot shock-heated gas avoids this ‘slow track’, and accretes directly from the CGM on to the disc where stars can form. We find that shock-heating of cold gas after accretion in the inner CGM and supernova-driven outflows contribute to, but do not fully explain, the delay in star formation. These processes combined slow down the delivery of cold-accreted gas to the galactic disc and consequently limit the rate of star formation in Milky Way mass galaxies at $z \gt 2$.

A physical model for radio and X-ray correlation in black hole X-ray binaries

ABSTRACT A tight correlation between the radio and X-ray emission in the hard state of black hole X-ray binaries (BHXRBs) indicates an intrinsic disc–jet connection in stellar black hole (BH) accretion systems, though the detailed physics processes at work are still quite unclear. A hot accretion flow is suggested to match the outer cold thin disc at a certain radius in the hard state, which may vary with the accretion rate. In this work, we assume that the magnetic field generated in the outer thin disc is advected inwards by the inner hot accretion flow, which is substantially enhanced near the BH. Such a strong field threading the horizon of a spinning BH is responsible for launching relativistic jets in BHXRBs via the Blandford–Znajek mechanism. Thus, both the jet power and the X-ray emission increase with the mass accretion rate, and we find that our model calculations are able to reproduce the observed radio/X-ray correlation quantitatively. For some individual BHXRBs, the slopes of the radio/X-ray correlations become steeper when the sources are brighter. Our model calculations show that this feature is due to the transition of the outer disc from gas pressure dominated to radiation pressure dominated, which leads to different accretion rate dependence of the field strength in the outer disc.

What is the hard spectral state in X-ray binaries? Insights from GRRMHD accretion flows simulations and polarization of their X-ray emission

X-ray binaries are known to exhibit different spectral states which are often associated with different black hole accretion modes. The exact geometry and properties of these accretion modes is still uncertain. Recent IXPE measurements of linear polarization of X-ray emission in canonical X-ray binary system Cygnus X-1 allow us to test models for the hard spectral state of accretion in a unique way. We show that general relativistic radiative magnetohydrodynamic (GRRMHD) simulations of accreting stellar black hole in a hard X-ray state may be consistent with the new observational information. In the presented framework, where first-principle models have limited number of free parameters, the polarimetric X-ray observations put constraints on the viewing angle of the inner hot accretion flow.

Observational Evidence for Hot Wind Impact on Parsec Scales in Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei

Supermassive black holes in galaxies spend the majority of their lifetime in the low-luminosity regime, powered by hot accretion flow. Strong winds launched from the hot accretion flow have the potential to play an important role in active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback. Direct observational evidence for these hot winds with temperatures around 10 keV, has been obtained through the detection of highly ionized iron emission lines with Doppler shifts in two prototypical low-luminosity AGNs, namely M81* and NGC 7213. In this work, we further identify blueshifted H-like O/Ne emission lines in the soft X-ray spectra of these two sources. These lines are interpreted to be associated with additional outflowing components possessing velocity around several 103 km s−1 and lower temperature (∼0.2–0.4 keV). Blueshifted velocity and the X-ray intensity of these additional outflowing components are hard to explain by previously detected hot wind freely propagating to larger radii. Through detailed numerical simulations, we find the newly detected blueshifted emission lines would come from circumnuclear gas shock-heated by the hot wind instead. Hot wind can provide a larger ram pressure force on the clumpy circumnuclear gas than the gravitational force from the central black hole, effectively impeding the black hole accretion of gas. Our results provide strong evidence for the energy and momentum feedback by the hot AGN wind.

The Cause of the Difference in the Propagation Distances between Compact and Transient Jets in Black Hole X-Ray Binaries

Accreting black hole binaries change their properties during evolution, passing through two main luminous states, dominated by either hard or soft X-rays. In the hard state, steady compact jets emitting multiwavelength radiation are present. Those jets are usually observed in radio, and when resolved, their extent is ≲1015 cm. Then, during hard-to-soft transitions, powerful ejecta in the form of blobs appear. They are observed up to distances of ∼1018 cm, which are ≳1000 times larger than the extent of hard-state jets. On the other hand, estimates of the accretion rates during most luminous hard states and the hard-to-soft transitions are very similar, implying that maximum achievable powers of both types of jets are similar and cannot cause a huge difference in their propagation. Instead, we explain the difference in the propagation length by postulating that the ejecta consist of electron-ion plasmas, whereas the hard-state jets consist mostly of electron–positron pairs. The inertia of the ejecta are then much higher than those of compact jets, and the former are not readily stopped by ambient media. A related result is that the accretion flow during the hard state is of standard and normal evolution, while it is a magnetically arrested disk during transient ejections. The pairs in hard-state jets can be produced by collisions of photons of the hard spectrum emitted by hot accretion flows within the jet base. On the other hand, the X-ray spectra during the state transitions are relatively soft, and the same process produces much fewer pairs.

Super-Eddington accretion in high-redshift black holes and the emergence of jetted AGN

Abstract In this work we study the co-evolution of central black holes (BHs) and host galaxies by utilizing an advanced iteration of the DELPHI semi-analytical model of galaxy formation and evolution. Based on dark matter halo merger trees spanning the redshift range from z = 20 to z = 4, it now incorporates essential components such as gas heating and cooling, cold and hot BH accretion, jet and radiative AGN feedback. We show how different BH growth models impact quasar and galaxy observables at z ≥ 5, providing predictions that will help discriminate between super-Eddington and Eddington-limited accretion models: despite being both consistent with observed properties of SMBHs and their host galaxies at z ∼ 5 − 7, they become very clearly distinguishable at higher redshift and in the intermediate mass regime. We find that the super-Eddington model, unlike the Eddington-limited scenario, predicts a gap in the BH mass function corresponding to the intermediate-mass range 104 M⊙ < Mbh < 106 M⊙. Additionally, it predicts black holes up to two orders of magnitude more massive for the same stellar mass at z = 9. The resulting velocity dispersion – BH mass relation at z ≥ 5 is consistent with local measurements, suggesting that its slope and normalisation are independent of redshift. Depending on the Eddington ratio, we also model the emergence of AGN jets, predicting their duty cycle across as a function of BH mass and their potential impact on the observed number density distribution of high-redshift AGN in the hard X-ray band.

Revealing the Impact of Critical Stellar Central Density on Galaxy Quenching through Cosmic Time

In a previous work, we investigated the structural and environmental dependence on quenching in the nearby universe. In this work, we extend our investigations to higher redshifts by combining galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and The FourStar Galaxy Evolution surveys. In low density, we find a characteristic Σ1 kpc above which the quenching is initiated as indicated by their population-averaged color. Σ1kpccrit shows only a weak mass dependency at all redshifts, which suggests that the internal quenching process is more related to the physics that acts in the central region of galaxies. In high density, Σ1kpccrit for galaxies at z > 1 is almost indistinguishable from their low-density counterparts. At z < 1, Σ1kpccrit for low-mass galaxies becomes progressively strongly mass dependent, which is due to the increasingly stronger environmental effects at lower redshifts. Σ1kpccrit in low density shows strong redshift evolution with ∼1 dex decrement from z = 2.5–0. It is likely that at a given stellar mass, the host halo is on average more massive and gas-rich at higher redshifts; hence, a higher level of integrated energy from a more massive black hole (BH) is required to quench. As the halo evolves from the cold to hot accretion phase at lower redshifts, the gas is shock-heated and becomes more vulnerable to the feedback processes from active galactic nucleus as predicted by theory. Meanwhile, angular momentum quenching also becomes more effective at low redshifts, which complements a lower level of integrated energy from the BH to quench.

JOYS+: Mid-infrared detection of gas-phase SO2 emission in a low-mass protostar

Context. Thanks to the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), our ability to observe the star formation process in the infrared has greatly improved. Due to its unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution and sensitivity in the mid-infrared, JWST/MIRI can see through highly extincted protostellar envelopes and probe the warm inner regions. An abundant molecule in these warm inner regions is SO2, which is a common tracer of both outflow and accretion shocks as well as hot core chemistry. Aims. This paper presents the first mid-infrared detection of gaseous SO2 emission in an embedded low-mass protostellar system rich in complex molecules and aims to determine the physical origin of the SO2 emission. Methods. JWST/MIRI observations taken with the Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) of the low-mass protostellar binary NGC 1333 IRAS 2A in the JWST Observations of Young protoStars (JOYS+) program are presented. The observations reveal emission from the SO2 v3 asymmetric stretching mode at 7.35 µm. Using simple slab models and assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), we derived the rotational temperature and total number of SO2 molecules. We then compared the results to those derived from high-angular-resolution SO2 data on the same scales (~50–100 au) obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Results. The SO2 emission from the v3 band is predominantly located on ~50–100 au scales around the mid-infrared continuum peak of the main component of the binary, IRAS 2A1. A rotational temperature of 92 ± 8 K is derived from the v3 lines. This is in good agreement with the rotational temperature derived from pure rotational lines in the vibrational ground state (i.e., v = 0) with ALMA (104 ± 5 K), which are extended over similar scales. However, the emission of the v3 lines in the MIRI-MRS spectrum is not in LTE given that the total number of molecules predicted by a LTE model is found to be a factor of 2 × 104 higher than what is derived for the v = 0 state from the ALMA data. This difference can be explained by a vibrational temperature that is ~100 K higher than the derived rotational temperature of the v = 0 state: Tvib ~ 200 K versus Trot = 104 ± 5 K. The brightness temperature derived from the continuum around the v3 band (~7.35 µm) of SO2 is ~180 K, which confirms that the v3 = 1 level is not collisionally populated but rather infrared-pumped by scattered radiation. This is also consistent with the non-detection of the v2 bending mode at 18–20 µm. The similar rotational temperature derived from the MIRI-MRS and ALMA data implies that they are in fact tracing the same molecular gas. The inferred abundance of SO2 , determined using the LTE fit to the lines of the vibrational ground state in the ALMA data, is 1.0 ± 0.3 × 10−8 with respect to H2, which is on the lower side compared to interstellar and cometary ices (10−8−10−7). Conclusions. Given the rotational temperature, the extent of the emission (~100 au in radius), and the narrow line widths in the ALMA data (~3.5 km s−1), the SO2 in IRAS 2A likely originates from ice sublimation in the central hot core around the protostar rather than from an accretion shock at the disk–envelope boundary. Furthermore, this paper shows the importance of radiative pumping and of combining JWST observations with those from millimeter interferometers such as ALMA to probe the physics on disk scales and to infer molecular abundances.

No X-Rays or Radio from the Nearest Black Holes and Implications for Future Searches

Astrometry from the Gaia mission was recently used to discover the two nearest known stellar-mass black holes (BHs), Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2. These objects are among the first stellar-mass BHs not discovered via X-rays or gravitational waves. Both systems contain ∼1 M ⊙ stars in wide orbits (a ≈ 1.4 au, 4.96 au) around ∼9 M ⊙ BHs, with both stars (solar-type main sequence star, red giant) well within their Roche lobes in Gaia BH1 and BH2, respectively. However, the BHs are still expected to accrete stellar winds, leading to potentially detectable X-ray or radio emission. Here, we report observations of both systems with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Very Large Array (for Gaia BH1) and MeerKAT (for Gaia BH2). We did not detect either system, leading to X-ray upper limits of L X < 9.4 × 1028 and L X < 4.0 × 1029 erg s−1 and radio upper limits of L r < 1.6 × 1025 and L r < 1.0 × 1026 erg s−1 for Gaia BH1 and BH2, respectively. For Gaia BH2, the non-detection implies that the accretion rate near the horizon is much lower than the Bondi rate, consistent with recent models for hot accretion flows. We discuss implications of these non-detections for broader BH searches, concluding that it is unlikely that isolated BHs will be detected via interstellar medium accretion in the near future. We also calculate evolutionary models for the binaries’ future evolution using Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics, and find that Gaia BH1 will be visible as a symbiotic BH X-ray binary for 5–50 Myr. Since no symbiotic BH X-ray binaries are known, this implies either that fewer than ∼104 Gaia BH1-like binaries exist in the Milky Way, or that they are common but have evaded detection.

Properties of relativistic hot accretion flow around a rotating black hole with radially varying viscosity

Properties of relativistic hot accretion flow around a rotating black hole with radially varying viscosity

Soft X-Ray Excess from Shocked Black Hole Accretion

A certain class of luminous galaxies hosting supermassive black holes (BHs) is known to exhibit an excess of “soft X-rays” in their X-ray spectra. However, its physical identity and origin are yet to be understood. In this work, we systematically study a sample of 9 well-documented narrow-line Seyfert 1 active galactic nuclei by utilizing the archival XMM-Newton/EPIC spectra in the context of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic model. In this scenario, thermal accretion disk photons (in UV) are Compton up-scattered by nonthermal energetic electrons in the hot downstream accretion due to shock compression, producing the observed soft excess. Our spectral model consists primarily of the shock Comptonization component and the underlying continuum including reflection from the accretion disk. Based on χ 2-statistics, we successfully constrain the model parameters, most notably electron energy of the downstream flow kT e , effective disk blackbody temperature kT bb, and inclination angle θ for a given BH spin. The disk temperature is commonly found to be kT bb 10 eV and the electron energy ranges from kT e 75–160 keV (for Schwarzschild BHs) to 126–232 keV (for Kerr BHs) depending on inclination. Our analyses imply that the characteristics of the observed soft excess are strongly dependent on the properties of the downstream accretion flow and BH spin.

Accretion flows in the hard state of black hole X-ray binaries: the effect of hot gas condensation

ABSTRACT It is commonly believed that accretion discs are truncated and their inner regions are described by advection dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) in the hard spectral state of black hole X-ray binaries. However, the increasing occurrence of a relativistically blurred Fe K α line together with a hard continuum points to the existence of a thin disc located near the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO). Assuming the accretion in the hard state is via an ADAF extending to near 100 Schwarzschild radii, which is supplied by either a stellar wind from a companion star or resulting from an evaporated disc, we study the possible condensation of the hot gas during its accretion towards the black hole. It is found that a small fraction of the ADAF condenses into a cold disc as a consequence of efficient radiative cooling at small distances, forming a disc-corona configuration near the ISCO. This takes place for low accretion rates corresponding to luminosities ranging from ∼10−3 to a few per cent of the Eddington luminosity. The coexistence of the weak inner disc and the dominant hot accretion flow provides a natural explanation of the broad K α line in the hard state. Detailed computations demonstrate that such accretion flows produce a hard X-ray spectrum accompanied by a weak disc component with a negative correlation between the 2 and 10 keV photon index and the Eddington ratio. The predicted spectrum of Cygnus X-1 and the correlation between the photon index and the Eddington ratio are in good agreement with observations.

A kinetic study of black hole activation by local plasma injection into the inner magnetosphere

ABSTRACT An issue of considerable interest in the theory of jet formation by the Blandford–Znajek mechanism, is how plasma is being supplied to the magnetosphere to maintain force-free conditions. Injection of electron–positron pairs via annihilation of MeV photons, emitted from a hot accretion flow, has been shown to be a viable possibility, but requires high enough accretion rates. At low accretion rates, and in the absence of any other form of plasma supply, the magnetosphere becomes charge-starved, forming intermittent spark gaps that can induce intense pair-cascades via interactions with disc radiation, enabling outflow formation. It is often speculated that enough plasma can penetrate the inner magnetosphere from the accretion flow through some rearrangement of magnetic field lines preventing the formation of spark-gaps. To address this question, we conducted a suite of 2D axisymmetric general-relativistic particle-in-cell simulations, in which plasma is injected into specified regions at a predescribed rate. We find that when pair-production is switched off, nearly complete screening is achieved when plasma is injected at the entire region inside the outer light cylinder at a high enough rate. Injection outside this region results in either, the formation of large vacuum-gaps, or coherent, large-amplitude oscillations of the magnetosphere, depending on the injection rate. Within our allowed dynamical range, we see no evidence for the system to reach a steady-state at high injection rates. Switching on pair-production results in nearly complete screening of the entire magnetosphere in all cases, with a small fraction of the Blandford–Znajek power dissipated as TeV gamma-rays.

Quenching star formation with low-luminosity AGN winds

ABSTRACT We present a simple model for low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) feedback through winds produced by a hot accretion flow. The wind carries considerable energy and deposits it on the host galaxy at kiloparsec scales and beyond, heating the galactic gas and thereby quenching star formation. Our model predicts that the typical LLAGN can quench more than 10 per cent of star formation in its host galaxy. We find that long-lived LLAGN winds from supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with masses ≥108 M⊙ and mass accretion rates $\dot{M} \gt 10^{-3} \dot{M}_{\rm Edd}\ (0.002\,{\rm M}_{\odot }\,\mathrm{ yr}^{-1})$ can prevent gas collapse and significantly quench galactic star formation compared to a scenario without AGNs, if the wind persists over 1 Myr. For sustained wind production over time-scales of 10 Myr or longer, SMBHs with 108 M⊙ or larger masses have important feedback effects with $\dot{M} \gt 10^{-4} \dot{M}_{\rm Edd}\ (0.0002\,{\rm M}_{\odot }\, \mathrm{ yr}^{-1})$.

Simple Convective Accretion Flows (SCAFs): Explaining the ≈ −1 Density Scaling of Hot Accretion Flows around Compact Accretors

Recent simulations find that hot gas accretion onto compact accretors is often highly turbulent and diskless, and shows a power-law density profile with slope α ρ ≈ −1. These results are consistent with observational constraints, but do not match existing self-similar solutions of radiatively inefficient accretion flows. We develop a theory for this new class of accretion flows, which we dub simple convective accretion flows (SCAFs). We use a set of hydrodynamic simulations to provide a minimalistic example of SCAFs, and develop an analytic theory to explain and predict key flow properties. We demonstrate that the turbulence in the flow is driven locally by convection, and argue that radial momentum balance, together with an approximate up–down symmetry of convective turbulence, yields α ρ = −1 ± few 0.1. Empirically, for an adiabatic hydrodynamic flow with γ ≈ 5/3, we get α ρ ≈ −0.8; the resulting accretion rate (relative to the Bondi accretion rate), , agrees very well with the observed accretion rates in Sgr A*, M87*, and a number of wind-fed supergiant X-ray binaries. We also argue that the properties of SCAFs are relatively insensitive to additional physical ingredients such as cooling and magnetic field; this explains their common appearance across simulations of different astrophysical systems.

On the Nature of the Rapid Color Changes of the UX Ori Star RY Lupi at Deep Minima

We propose an explanation for the rapid color changes on the color–magnitude diagrams observed by Gahm et al. in the T Tauri star RY Lup during its deep minima. Our calculations have shown that the hot accretion spot on the stellar surface in combination with the inhomogeneous structure of the gas–dust clouds obscuring the star can be responsible for these changes. The observed rate of of the color changes allows one to estimate the velocity of the screen across the stellar disk =100 km s-1. This velocity is close to the typical gas velocities near T Tauri stars.

Pressure anisotropy and viscous heating in weakly collisional plasma turbulence

Pressure anisotropy can strongly influence the dynamics of weakly collisional, high-beta plasmas, but its effects are missed by standard magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Small changes to the magnetic-field strength generate large pressure-anisotropy forces, heating the plasma, driving instabilities and rearranging flows, even on scales far above the particles’ gyroscales where kinetic effects are traditionally considered most important. Here, we study the influence of pressure anisotropy on turbulent plasmas threaded by a mean magnetic field (Alfvénic turbulence). Extending previous results that were concerned with Braginskii MHD, we consider a wide range of regimes and parameters using a simplified fluid model based on drift kinetics with heat fluxes calculated using a Landau-fluid closure. We show that viscous (pressure-anisotropy) heating dissipates between a quarter (in collisionless regimes) and half (in collisional regimes) of the turbulent-cascade power injected at large scales; this does not depend strongly on either plasma beta or the ion-to-electron temperature ratio. This will in turn influence the plasma's thermodynamics by regulating energy partition between different dissipation channels (e.g. electron and ion heat). Due to the pressure anisotropy's rapid dynamic feedback onto the flows that create it – an effect we term ‘magneto-immutability’ – the viscous heating is confined to a narrow range of scales near the forcing scale, supporting a nearly conservative, MHD-like inertial-range cascade, via which the rest of the energy is transferred to small scales. Despite the simplified model, our results – including the viscous heating rate, distributions and turbulent spectra – compare favourably with recent hybrid-kinetic simulations. This is promising for the more general use of extended-fluid (or even MHD) approaches to model weakly collisional plasmas such as the intracluster medium, hot accretion flows and the solar wind.

Searching for Radio Outflows from M31* with VLBI Observations

As one of the nearest and most dormant supermassive black holes (SMBHs), M31* provides a rare but promising opportunity for studying the physics of black hole accretion and feedback at the quiescent state. Previous Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations with an arcsecond resolution have detected M31* as a compact radio source over centimeter wavelengths, but the steep radio spectrum suggests optically thin synchrotron radiation from an outflow driven by a hot accretion flow onto the SMBH. Aiming to probe the putative radio outflow, we conducted milliarcsecond-resolution very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of M31* in 2016, primarily at 5 GHz and combining the Very Long Baseline Array, Tianma 65 m, and Shanghai 25 m radio telescopes. Despite the unprecedented simultaneous resolution and sensitivity achieved, no significant (≳3σ) signal is detected at the putative position of M31* given an rms level of 5.9 μJy beam−1, thus ruling out a pointlike source with a peak flux density comparable to that (∼30 μJy beam−1) measured by the VLA observations taken in 2012. We disfavor the possibility that M31* has substantially faded since 2012, in view that a 2017 VLA observation successfully detected M31* at a historically high peak flux density (∼75 μJy beam−1 at 6 GHz). Instead, the nondetection of the VLBI observations is best interpreted as the arcsecond-scale core being resolved out at the milliarcsecond scale, suggesting an intrinsic size of M31* at 5 GHz larger than ∼300 times the Schwarzschild radius. Such extended radio emission may originate from a hot wind driven by the weakly accreting SMBH.