The central parsecs of M87: jet emission and an elusive accretion disc
  We present the first simultaneous spectral energy distribution (SED) of M87
core at a scale of 0.4 arcsec ($\sim 32\, \rm{pc}$) across the electromagnetic
spectrum. Two separate, quiescent, and active states are sampled that are
characterized by a similar featureless SED of power-law form, and that are thus
remarkably different from that of a canonical active galactic nuclei (AGN) or a
radiatively inefficient accretion source. We show that the emission from a jet
gives an excellent representation of the core of M87 core covering ten orders
of magnitude in frequency for both the active and the quiescent phases. The
inferred total jet power is, however, one to two orders of magnitude lower than
the jet mechanical power reported in the literature. The maximum luminosity of
a thin accretion disc allowed by the data yields an accretion rate of $< 6
\times 10^{-5}\, \rm{M_\odot \, yr^{-1}}$, assuming 10% efficiency. This power
suffices to explain M87 radiative luminosity at the jet-frame, it is however
two to three order of magnitude below that required to account for the jet's
kinetic power. The simplest explanation is variability, which requires the core
power of M87 to have been two to three orders of magnitude higher in the last
200 yr. Alternatively, an extra source of power may derive from black hole
spin. Based on the strict upper limit on the accretion rate, such spin power
extraction requires an efficiency an order of magnitude higher than predicted
from magnetohydrodynamic simulations, currently in the few hundred per cent
range.
