Articles tagged with Black Holes
Researchers propose that low-activity supermassive black holes are major factories of high-energy cosmic particles. They can generate gamma rays in the megaelectron volt range through plasma heating and accelerate protons to energies thousands of times higher than the Large Hadron Collider.
A nearly $2 million NSF grant will accelerate the hunt for low-frequency gravitational waves using high-precision timing observations of exotic stars called millisecond pulsars. WVU's Maura McLaughlin is principal investigator on the project, which aims to discover new types of gravitational waves and expand the IPTA's reach globally.
Researchers at Dartmouth College have developed a theory that produces and detects light in a vacuum, challenging classical physics. The experiment uses an accelerating diamond membrane to create photons, which are then amplified by multiple photon detectors.
A new simulation developed at Northwestern University reveals the role of galaxy spiral arms in feeding supermassive black holes with gas. The study uses high-powered computing to model gas flow across vast distances and provides insight into quasars, which are incredibly luminous fast-growing black holes.
Researchers discovered a definitive relationship between the mass of actively feeding supermassive black holes and their characteristic timescale in light flickering patterns. The findings suggest that the processes driving flickering during accretion are universal, applying to both massive black holes and lighter white dwarfs.
Researchers have discovered long narrow dust filaments that surround and feed supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. These filaments could be the natural cause of darkening at the centers of many galaxies when nuclear black holes are active, providing a new perspective on their behavior.
Researchers have made the first direct observation of light from behind a black hole, confirming a key prediction by Einstein's theory of general relativity. The discovery was made using X-rays emitted by a supermassive black hole at a galaxy 800 million light-years away.
A team of researchers from the Flatiron Institute and Princeton University has found that the magnetic field around a black hole quickly decays when surrounded by plasma. This process, known as 'magnetic reconnection,' rapidly drains the magnetic field and could explain flares seen near supermassive black holes.
Astronomers find that massive black holes play a key role in halting star formation in galaxies, contradicting previous assumptions. Using simulations and machine learning, the team confirmed that supermassive black hole mass is the most important factor in suppressing stellar activity.
The Event Horizon Telescope has imaged the heart of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A, pinpointing the location of its central supermassive black hole and revealing a gigantic jet being born. The new image challenges theoretical models of jets, showing that only the outer edges emit radiation.
Researchers aim to understand jets' composition and launch mechanisms by combining theory, observation, and modelling. The goal is to develop a concordance model of jets, overcoming historical divisions between scientific approaches.
A Danish student has solved the mathematical expression behind black hole image distortions, revealing a key factor of 500 times. The result provides new opportunities to test gravity and understanding of black holes, particularly in rotating cases.
The study reveals a higher-than-expected black hole fraction, with some having masses up to 20 times that of the Sun. The researchers used simulations to understand how these massive black holes formed and influenced the cluster's evolution.
Researchers at MIT confirmed Hawking's area theorem for the first time by analyzing GW150914 signal, showing total event horizon area did not decrease after merger. The findings provide evidence that black holes behave as thermal objects and emit radiation over long timescales, a fundamental revelation about these cosmic phenomena.
Scientists have detected black holes eating neutron stars for the first time, shedding light on the Universe's most extreme objects. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo observatories captured the event, providing valuable insights into space and time.
Researchers confirmed detection of two rare events involving collision of black hole and neutron star, producing strong gravitational waves signals. The mergers involved massive objects with masses up to 9 solar masses and 1.9-solar-mass neutron stars, providing new information on binary systems and their properties.
The LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaborations have detected gravitational waves from the merger of a black hole and a neutron star. Analysis reveals that the signals originated from two mixed binaries, each made up of a neutron star and a black hole, with masses consistent with these objects.
Researchers have detected two events of black holes merging with neutron stars, providing insights into their origins and merger rates. The findings will enable the drawing of conclusions about the host of astrophysical models of compact object formation and binary evolution.
A research team from Imperial College London proposes a way that singularities could violate the law of conservation of charge by introducing axions, hypothetical particles that may explain dark matter. They show that temporary singularities in black holes could destroy electric charge, challenging a fundamental law of physics.
Researchers have found that the polarisation plane of visible light in blazars sometimes rotates, coinciding with repeated gamma ray bursts. The study also described the structure of the inner part of the jets, revealing a fast spine surrounded by a slower sheath with ring condensations.
Scientists will use six distant quasars to study galaxy evolution, supermassive black hole formation, and gas in the intergalactic medium. The team will examine the properties of these quasars and their host galaxies during the first stages of galaxy evolution.
Researchers developed a new type of gravitational wave detector that can find small primordial black holes. The device uses a specific metal cavity and strong external magnetic field to detect high-frequency gravitational waves emitted by these hypothetical black holes.
Researchers aim to detect gravitational wave signals with frequencies 11 orders of magnitude below those detected by LIGO. The NANOGrav center will use radio pulsars and telescopes to search for a 'chorus' of signals from super-massive black hole mergers.
A team of researchers has proposed a new explanation for the origin of supermassive black holes, suggesting that they are formed through the collapse of a massive seed black hole produced by the gravitational instability of a dark matter halo. This process, known as gravothermal collapse, can lead to the creation of a seed black hole w...
Researchers used ALMA to detect a galactic wind driven by a supermassive black hole 13.1 billion years ago, pushing back the start of galaxy-growth interactions by 100 million years. The observation reveals coevolution between supermassive black holes and galaxies since less than a billion years after the Universe's birth.
Satellite galaxies that orbit massive central galaxies can form new stars due to active black holes clearing their path through intergalactic gas. Researchers used systematic observations and cosmological simulations to find this counter-intuitive effect.
A study reveals that black holes have an unexpected effect on galaxy evolution, influencing the formation of stars in satellite galaxies at vast distances. The research found a clear modulation of star formation rates depending on a galaxy's orientation with respect to its central black hole.
Researchers at Tohoku University have discovered a dying supermassive black hole in the Arp 187 galaxy through analyzing radio images and multi-wavelength data. The study indicates that AGN turn-off occurs within a 3000-year time scale, with the nucleus becoming over 1000 times fainter during the last 3,000 years.
The LISA-Taiji network can constrain the Hubble parameter within 1% accuracy in just 5 years, potentially beating existing errors. Gravitational wave signals from compact binary coalescence offer a novel window for Hubble parameter determination.
The study reveals that supermassive black holes exhibit accretion states similar to those seen in stellar mass black holes, with properties including thermal emission by the plasma disc and intense radio emission. This new understanding helps clarify the activity cycles of supermassive black holes in galaxy centers.
New research uses M87* data to test Einstein-based and string-inspired theories, constraining the validity of these models. The study suggests that current data aligns well with Einstein's theory and has limitations for string-based theories.
A SMU professor is receiving a $215,000 grant from NASA to analyze data on Active Galactic Nuclei using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. The two-year project aims to shed light on black hole behavior and processes that emit powerful jets into host galaxies.
Researchers observed a supermassive black hole's accretion cycle, finding properties similar to stellar-mass black holes. The study suggests that accretion is independent of size, allowing for the capture of short timescale events like tidal disruption events.
A new theorem limits the use of quantum machine learning to learn processes like black holes, highlighting its fundamental limits. However, most physical processes are structured enough that they don't resemble random ones, making the impact less severe.
A new simulation study led by UCL researchers suggests that studying black hole-neutron star collisions could provide a new measurement of the Universe's expansion rate, helping to resolve a long-standing dispute. The study found that instruments on Earth could detect ripples in space-time caused by up to 3,000 such collisions by 2030.
Researchers used NASA's NICER telescope on the International Space Station to measure the size of PSR J0740+6620, the most massive known neutron star. The team's findings provide insights into the squeezability of matter in neutron star cores, shedding light on what happens when neutrons break down into smaller particles.
A new NASA visualization reveals the hypnotic pas de deux of two orbiting black holes, distorting and redirecting light from their accretion disks. The system's unique features, including relativistic aberration and Doppler boosting, create striking images of each black hole.
Data from 19 observatories reveal insight into M87's behavior, spin, and energy output, improving tests of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. The observations also shed light on cosmic rays and their origin.
Physicists at MIT's LIGO Laboratory have searched for ultralight bosons using black holes, but found no slowdown in their spin. The study rules out the existence of ultralight bosons with masses between 1.3x10^-13 and 2.7x10^-13 electronvolts.
Two close quasar pairs are found in distant merging galaxies, separated by just over 10,000 light-years. This discovery provides crucial insight into the existence of supermassive black hole pairs and galaxy mergers in the early Universe.
The discovery of four double quasars offers insights into galaxy formation and the evolution of supermassive black holes. Quasars are brilliant beacons that can outshine entire galaxies, and their proximity in merging galaxies provides a unique window into the early universe.
A newly discovered 'Goldilocks' black hole, approximately 55,000 times the sun's mass, provides insight into how supermassive black holes form and grow. The finding may indicate that these behemoths have ancient relics as seeds, potentially leading to a greater understanding of the universe.
Researchers have solved a long-standing mystery about how particles behave outside a black hole's photon sphere using string theory. The study finds that string theory resolves singularities caused by tidal effects on nearby strings, supporting the idea of extended objects like strings as degrees of freedom in quantum gravity.
The EHT collaboration has revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the M87 galaxy, measuring polarisation and magnetic field lines just outside the black hole. This new data is key to understanding how the M87 galaxy launches energetic jets from its core.
Astronomers using the Event Horizon Telescope have observed polarised light around a black hole, showing that magnetic fields at its edge are strong enough to push back against hot gas and resist gravity's pull. This discovery helps explain how the M87 galaxy launches energetic jets from its core.
Astronomers have captured the first-ever image of a black hole's magnetic fields, revealing that polarized light reveals the structure of these fields just outside the event horizon. This breakthrough observation will help scientists understand how energy is extracted from spinning black holes to produce powerful jets.
A new view of the region closest to M87's supermassive black hole reveals important details of magnetic fields and hints at how powerful jets originate. The observations suggest strongly magnetized gas plays a key role in launching energetic jets.
Researchers develop theoretical model suggesting microscopic wormholes could be traversable without exotic matter, using Dirac field to describe probability density function of particles. The model proposes that certain elementary particles like electrons and electromagnetic waves could traverse tiny tunnels in spacetime.
Astronomers have found the most distant cosmic jet, providing insights into how galaxies evolved and supermassive black holes grew when the universe was only 780 million years old. The quasar, with a massive black hole 300 million times more massive than the Sun, has a jet of fast-moving particles about 1,000 years old.
A new study advances a decisive test to investigate the origin of solar-mass black holes, which may be connected to dark matter. The research suggests that such black holes could have formed in the early Universe, contradicting conventional stellar evolution astrophysics.
A new theoretical study suggests that supermassive black holes could form directly from dark matter in high-density regions, contradicting current understanding of their formation. This proposal has key implications for cosmology and the early Universe, potentially explaining how supermassive black holes grew so quickly.
Researchers detected radio flares months and years after a star was torn apart by a black hole, contradicting previous expectations. The team observed two delayed flares in a distant galaxy, suggesting that new models may be needed to explain this phenomenon.
Researchers linked a high-energy neutrino to an object outside our galaxy, tracing it back to a black hole tearing apart a star in a rare cataclysmic occurrence called a tidal disruption event. The findings provide insights into how these phenomena work and challenge previous expectations about when and how neutrinos are produced.
Researchers have detected a high-energy neutrino in the wake of a star's destruction by a black hole, providing new insights into the origins of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays. This breakthrough sheds light on decades-old problem and offers support for the conclusion that Tidal Disruption Events could be responsible for producing UHECRs.
Researchers found that most high-energy astrophysical neutrinos are born near quasars with massive black holes. This challenges previous theories suggesting only highest-energy neutrinos could be produced by these sources.
The stellar-mass black hole in the Cygnus X-1 binary system was found to have a mass 21 times that of the Sun and is rotating at a speed close to the speed of light. This discovery challenges astronomers' thoughts on how black holes formed.
Cygnus X-1 contains a 21-solar mass black hole, challenging how astronomers thought they formed. The black hole is more than 20 times the mass of our Sun, with its spin approaching the speed of light.
A new study using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) has refined the distance to Cygnus X-1 and found its black hole mass to be approximately 21 solar masses, exceeding current stellar evolution models. This massive black hole suggests that lower mass loss through stellar winds during progenitor star evolution may have occurred.
Burke-Spolaor plans to use the fellowship funding to launch exploratory projects on gravitational waves and fast radio bursts. She aims to expand her work internationally through partnerships with the International Pulsar Timing Array.
Astronomers have found a concentration of smaller black holes at the center of the globular cluster NGC 6397, contradicting the long-held assumption of an intermediate-mass black hole. The discovery was made using Hubble data and Gaia space observatory measurements.