A supermassive black hole, trying to move away from its galaxy due to extremely strong gravity, left behind a trail of ionized gas and newly formed stars.
Galaxy collisions and mergers are a fairly common event in the universe. Most of the largest galaxies we see today were formed during a series of galaxy mergers, and it is predicted that our own spiral galaxy will also collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in the future.
When galaxies merge, their supermassive black holes often merge as well; Attracted to each other, the two supermassive black holes will eventually orbit each other in a death spiral until they collide and become one. At the same time, this process also sends powerful gravitational waves into the universe.
But our recent computer simulations show that this Some unusual circumstances occur during this process, such as the ejection of a supermassive black hole from the galaxy. Astronomer Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University and his colleagues may have just found evidence of what’s happening in a small, oddly shaped galaxy about 10 billion light years away.
A black hole is a region of space-time with an extremely powerful gravitational field.
According to researchers’ current understanding, a black hole is a region of spacetime with an extremely strong gravitational field, so unless they are actively “feeding” (attracting matter and light in the universe) , then humans really can’t find black holes, because no electromagnetic radiation can escape the crazy gravitational force of this “cosmic monster”.
In a series of recent images from the Hubble Space Telescope, van Dokkum and his colleagues detected the appearance of a narrow spot in the small galaxy.
The galaxy doesn’t even have a name yet, it’s relatively small, but it’s filled with dense clouds of gas and teeming with new star formations. From its center, a nearly straight streak – visible because it is much fainter than the rest of the galaxy – extends more than 200 light years, where it ends in a streak of ultraviolet light.
Along the 200 light-year sequence, we observe the appearance of a series of newly formed star clusters, which shine thanks to ionizing radiation. By measuring the wavelengths of starlight, van Dokkum and his colleagues can estimate their ages; The youngest stars are those furthest from the galactic center.
Once we observe this matter, we can see how black holes work.
If a black hole is in a binary pair and actively “eats” the other black hole, then matter rotating around the black hole will emit powerful X-rays and radio waves. Once we observe this matter, we can see how black holes work.
Van Dokkum and his colleagues say it appears a powerful shock wave emanated from the galaxy’s core, carving out a path and leaving behind a trail of hot, compressed gas that triggered the galaxy-forming explosion. stars that followed.
The explanation that best fits the Hubble data is probably There’s a supermassive black hole trying to escape. As van Dokkum and colleagues suggest, about 39 million years ago, a galaxy merger ejected a supermassive black hole from the galactic core and flung it into space at a speed of about 360,000 miles. within one hour.
Supermassive black holes can move through space
Scientists have long assumed that supermassive black holes can move through space, but it is very difficult to record this scene. Of the 10 million black holes in the Milky Way, up to 7.5 million could be ejected at extremely high speeds.
Normally, when two supermassive black holes merge, they form a larger black hole located at the center of the newly formed galaxy. But occasionally, gravitational waves from the merger also create a recoil force, giving the new supermassive black hole a powerful kick, knocking it out of the galaxy’s core.
When this happens, you will see an extremely heavy, extremely dense object moving at terrifying speeds through clouds of interstellar gas, pushing a bow wave in front of it and pulling along a long trail of ionized hydrogen, ripples of compressed gas and star-like shapes. explosions behind him.
And van Dokkum and his colleagues think that might be what’s happening in their little unnamed galaxy.
Scientists predict that there are two possibilities for the supermassive black hole to leave its galaxy. The first one, it is the result of the collision and merger of two black holes. The merger could push back the new black hole. In additionthis black hole is also likely to belong to a rare binary black hole system. “Partner” It has not yet been detected, perhaps because it does not emit maser rays.
This idea is supported by the surprising lack of activity at the center of the small galaxy: no supermassive black hole has formed there.
Van Dokkum and his colleagues write: “The morphology of the features in the Hubble Space Telescope images is so impressive that it shouldn’t be too difficult to find additional examples, if they exist.”
When Nancy Grace Roman Telescope Launched in 2027, it could help astronomers discover more supermassive black holes in other galaxies.
Article source: PNVN
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A supermassive black hole, trying to move away from its galaxy due to extremely strong gravity, left a trail of ionized gas in its path…
