Articles tagged with Black Holes
A new study by Brigham Young University researchers reveals that black holes' movement, including lateral motion and spin, fuels massive jets of energy known as quasars. The study confirms a long-held theory while introducing a new component: that black holes' lateral movement also powers these jets.
Scientists have discovered the most distant quasar to date, ULAS J1120+0641, with a redshift of 7.1, providing a unique opportunity to study the early universe. The object's massive black hole is estimated to be two billion times that of our Sun, challenging current theories on its growth.
A gamma-ray flash was detected coming from a distant galaxy, suggesting a massive black hole is consuming a star. The long-duration event produced an enormous amount of energy and appears to be emanating from the center of the galaxy.
Astronomers discovered a massive black hole in a distant galaxy that ripped apart a star, creating a powerful beam of energy that crossed 3.8 billion light years to Earth. The extreme brightness of this event was due to the small fraction of the sky illuminated by the jet of light towards the Milky Way.
Astronomers used Chandra X-ray Observatory to discover massive black holes growing more aggressively than thought, in tandem with host galaxies. The study suggests that these young black holes are related to quasars and could have played a role in clearing cosmic fog.
A Rutgers University astrophysicist's research team has discovered that supermassive black holes were surprisingly common in the early universe, growing at a rate similar to their host galaxies. The findings suggest there are at least 30 million black holes in the early universe, far exceeding previous estimates.
Researchers detected 13 billion light-year-old galaxies with hidden central black holes using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The findings suggest a symbiotic relationship between black holes and galaxies dating back to the Big Bang.
Astronomers have discovered a second supersized black hole at the heart of the unusual nearby galaxy Markarian 739. The study used NASA's Swift satellite and Chandra X-ray Observatory to find the hidden AGN, which is one of the nearest and clearest cases of a binary AGN. The dual black holes are separated by only 11,000 light-years.
Researchers analyzed X-ray data from space telescopes to understand the relationship between a black hole's accretion rate and ionization state of its surrounding disk. The study found a linear dependence on the rate of accretion, contradicting theoretical predictions.
Researchers used radio telescopes to produce the most detailed image of particle jets erupting from a supermassive black hole in a nearby galaxy. The image shows features as small as 15 light-days across, making it the highest-resolution view of galactic jets ever made.
Italian researchers created space-like conditions in a vessel to confirm the behavior of astrophysical jets, which travel at high speeds and stretch across vast distances. The study found that these jets behave according to Newtonian Dynamics, confirming successful 3D simulations.
Researchers have developed conceptual tools to visualize warped space-time, discovering vortex lines and tendex lines that describe gravitational forces. These tools allow for a better understanding of black holes, gravity, and the universe, enabling predictions of gravitational waves and solving long-standing mysteries.
A newly merged black hole can be detected by observing the tidal disruption of surrounding stars, which will provide accurate distances and precise sky coordinates. This could lead to a better understanding of dark energy and Einstein's general theory of relativity.
A new supercomputer simulation reveals that the collision of two neutron stars can naturally produce the magnetic structures thought to power short gamma-ray bursts. The study provides the most detailed glimpse of the forces driving some of the universe's most energetic explosions.
Astronomers have never seen a gamma-ray burst as bright and long-lasting as GRB 110328A, which is believed to be associated with a massive black hole. The unusual blast likely arose when a star wandered too close to the central black hole of its galaxy.
Astronomers have spotted extremely hot matter near a black hole just milliseconds before it plunges in. The unique observations suggest that some matter may be escaping via highly structured magnetic fields.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a model for interacting electrons in unconventional superconductors by mimicking the behavior of charged black holes. This work resolves the Mott problem, which has puzzled physicists for decades, and sheds light on the origin of superconductivity in copper oxide materials.
Astronomers using data from NASA's Swift satellite have found a largely unseen population of black-hole-powered galaxies, accounting for at least one-fifth of all active galaxies. The discoveries were made by analyzing X-ray emissions and finding that these heavily shrouded black holes are extremely faint and difficult to detect.
A UBC team designs an experiment featuring a flowing water trough to test Stephen Hawking's 35-year-old theory on black holes. The study creates a 'white hole' simulation, generating thermal radiation analogous to photon pairs in Hawking's theory.
Researchers have identified 16 binary systems consisting of supermassive black holes that are hundreds to thousands closer together than previously observed. This discovery sheds new light on how these cosmic behemoths and their host galaxies merge, a crucial aspect of understanding the universe's evolution.
Researchers use NASA X-ray satellites to monitor a binary system with a massive black hole, discovering its rhythmic cycles, which drive the black hole's intake and growth. The study reveals the importance of radiation in preventing the black hole from ingesting too much material.
Researchers discovered COSMOS-AzTEC3, a massive proto-cluster 12.6 billion light-years away, formed about one billion years after the Big Bang. The cluster is characterized by extreme bursts of star formation and a massive feeding black hole, indicating it will grow into a modern galaxy cluster.
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole in a nearby dwarf galaxy, Henize 2-10, which is thought to be one of the first galaxies to form in the early Universe. The finding suggests that supermassive black holes formed before their surrounding galaxies, challenging current understanding of galaxy evolution.
Scientists have found a miniaturized galaxy with a single massive black hole, which produces radio jets that are much more efficient than previously thought. The discovery was made using CSIRO's Compact Array radio telescope and reveals that black holes can be both more powerful and more efficient.
Researchers have simulated the merger of two black holes with vastly different sizes, achieving a 100:1 mass ratio for the first time. This breakthrough allows for more realistic astrophysical scenarios and prediction of observational effects.
Researchers found compelling evidence for the birth of a stellar mass black hole in the type IIL supernova SN 1979C. The study proposes that the late time glow of the supernova is consistent with a black hole accreting material from either a fallback disk or a binary companion.
Artificial black holes made with metamaterials can trap EM waves, preventing them from escaping like a black hole traps light. This technology could be used to measure how light is absorbed when passing through the material and enable the harvesting of light for solar cells.
The telescope discovered two gamma-ray-emitting bubbles that span 50,000 light-years north and south of the galactic center
Scientists have successfully created an optical analogue of Hawking radiation using a laser beam and glass target. This experiment confirms the theoretical predictions of Hawking radiation, which is emitted by black holes but difficult to detect.
Researchers are tracing electromagnetic signatures back to the impact of colliding black holes to detect them with ordinary visible light. They're creating a detailed blueprint for future scientists and simulating mergers to aid in gravitational wave discovery, proving general relativity.
Astronomers have confirmed that Hanny's Voorwerp is a large cloud of glowing gas illuminated by the light from a quasar, which has since burned out. The team found that the quasar lighting up the gas took up to 70,000 years to travel through space.
A new study analyzing four extremely bright gamma-ray bursts observed by NASA's Fermi satellite suggests that these events are likely powered by black holes rather than neutron stars. The analysis found that the remnant of a long-duration burst is most likely a black hole, as it cannot produce enough energy to power a magnetar.
Researchers create model of M33 X-7's evolutionary history and formation to explain its observational characteristics. The model sheds light on massive star evolution and black hole formation physics.
Researcher Stelios Kazantzidis uses Ohio Supercomputer Center's powerful systems to model galaxy mergers and simulate the formation of massive black holes. His work has potential to shed light on astrophysical phenomena and verify general relativity.
A team of astronomers has confirmed the presence of an extreme ultra-luminous X-ray source in a nearby galaxy, which may indicate the presence of an intermediate mass black hole. The object, HLX-1, is located ~300 million light years from Earth and emits radiation 100 times brighter than most other objects in its class.
SOFIA's infrared telescope will study the Milky Way's galactic center, detecting heat radiation not visible to human eyes. The mission aims to understand star formation in the presence of a supermassive black hole.
Astronomers discovered that the first super-massive black holes formed when galaxies collided and merged together, contrary to hierarchical structure formation. These simulations reveal details of the merged galaxies on a scale of less than a light year.
Astronomers studying a galactic black hole have found similarities between its eruption and the Eyjafjallajokull volcano on Earth. The cosmic eruption prevents hundreds of millions of new stars from forming by lifting cooler gas upwards.
A team of Syracuse University physicists developed a theoretical model that explains how the Pauli exclusion principle can be violated, allowing for multiple electrons to occupy the same quantum state. The model may help explain matter behavior at black hole edges and contribute to a unified theory of quantum gravity.
Astronomers discovered a giant black hole with its spin axis pointing in a different direction after two collisions with smaller galaxies. The observations suggest that the black hole was jerked around twice, creating cavities and radio jets.
Researchers have discovered a connection between giant gas clouds and the formation of active galactic nuclei, which power the bright centers of some galaxies. The study suggests that gas clouds can either be consumed by supermassive black holes or give birth to new stars, leading to increased activity.
Astronomers have discovered the most powerful pair of jets from a stellar black hole, blowing a huge bubble of hot gas. The discovery reveals that some black holes can release at least as much energy in the form of collimated jets as radiation, leading to an expansion of the surrounding interstellar gas.
Astronomers using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite have confirmed that most of the X-rays in a binary system come from the dual, oppositely directed jets around a black hole. The study provides new insights into the complex behavior of these systems and their extreme environments.
Researchers in China develop electromagnetic absorbing device for microwave frequencies using metamaterials, demonstrating an absorption rate of 99%. The device traps and converts electromagnetic waves into heat, exhibiting properties similar to an 'electromagnetic black hole',
Data from NASA's Swift satellite have solved a decades-long mystery about black holes emitting vast amounts of energy. The survey confirms that galaxies colliding trigger the 'lighting up' of supermassive black holes.
A team of researchers discovered that a supermassive black hole at the center of the most massive local galaxy, M87, is displaced from its expected location. The finding suggests that supermassive black holes may be commonly offset from their host galaxy centers due to previous mergers or interactions with jets.
Researchers found that the supermassive black hole at the center of M87 is displaced from its expected position, likely due to a previous merger or the iconic jet's push. This discovery could have significant implications for understanding galaxy formation and evolution.
The Andromeda Galaxy's supermassive black hole, M31*, is surprisingly quiet and faint in X-ray light, deviating from expectations. A decade-long study by Chandra reveals that the black hole underwent a significant outburst of X-rays in 2006.
A study by researchers at The University of Nottingham reveals the devastating impact of supermassive black holes on galaxies. These behemoths strip massive galaxies of cool gases required for new stars, causing ageing red giants to dwindle in existence.
Theoretical physicist Nikodem Poplawski proposes that our universe could be born from the interior of an Einstein-Rosen bridge (wormhole) within a black hole, potentially resolving issues with the Big Bang theory and black hole information loss. This model may also explain cosmic inflation.
Physicists at Harvard University create an atomic-scale black hole by accelerating cold rubidium atoms towards a charged carbon nanotube. The experiment demonstrates the merging of cold-atom and nanoscale science, opening doors to new applications in materials and electronics.
Astronomers at Yale University have discovered that supermassive black holes undergo huge growth spurts during galactic collisions and remain veiled in dust for extended periods. The team found that these growing black holes spend about half their lives hidden behind a 'veil' of dust.
Astronomers have discovered two ancient supermassive black holes that provide insight into the universe's early evolution. The objects lack characteristic signatures of hot dust, suggesting they formed in a dust-free medium at the earliest stages of universe formation.
Astronomers have observed fast-growing primitive black holes at the center of distant galaxies, weighing between 100 million and 10 billion solar masses. The researchers found that these black holes are active and growing, and their growth is linked to the formation of stars in the galaxy.
The Hubble Multi-Cycle Treasury Program will survey the first third of cosmic time, observing over 250,000 distant galaxies to understand galaxy formation and evolution. The project aims to study the earliest stages in the formation of supermassive black holes and find distant supernovae important for understanding dark energy.
Researchers found that gamma rays originate closer to one light year from black holes than expected, and the jet curves as it travels away from the black hole. This new understanding of blazar jets requires a rethinking of their structure and poses challenges for theorists trying to construct such jets.
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann's NSF award will support her research on supermassive black holes and the university's innovative program for underrepresented minorities in physics. The grant also funds initiatives to recruit and retain students from underrepresented groups.
Astronomers study the galaxy's most active black-hole binary, revealing a dramatic change in the accretion disk's behavior. The Suzaku observations show that at low brightness, the inner edge of the disk retreats up to 600 miles from the black hole.
Astronomers have identified the brightest source in the gamma-ray sky, with galaxy 3C 454.3 emitting flares 10 times brighter than its summer levels. The blazar's exceptional brightness is due to its orientation, with a jet aimed straight at Earth.
Astronomer Dan Dicken uses Spitzer Space Telescope data to study heat energy from distant active galaxies, aiming to distinguish between starbursts and supermassive black holes. His research could help understand galaxy evolution, co-evolution of black holes and their host galaxies, and the diversity of active galactic nuclei.