The formation of a “celestial ring” after the explosion of a supermassive black hole
A “necklace” of young star clusters 3.8 billion light-years from Earth may have formed after a supermassive black hole exploded, scientists say.
Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful black hole explosions ever recorded in a system called SDSS J 1531+3414, or SDSS J 1531 for short.
This structure with a star pattern that looks like beads on a string is located at a distance of 3.8 billion light years from Earth.
Scientists note that SDSS J 1531 is a massive galaxy cluster (galaxies gathered together due to the mutual gravitational force between galaxies) and contains hundreds of individual galaxies and vast reservoirs of hot gas and dark matter. At the heart of SDSS J 1531, two of the cluster's largest galaxies collide.
Surrounding these merged giants is a group of 19 large star clusters (groups of stars clustered together as if they were clusters), called superclusters, arranged in an S-shape, like beads on a diamond. are a string.
Images of these “celestial jewels” were first identified in 2014 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Astronomers now believe that the ring formed after a very powerful collapse, equivalent to the energy produced by a billion sun-like stars exploding together, from a supermassive black hole about four billion years ago.
This flow ripped apart the hot gas surrounding SDSS J 1531 to form a large cavity, much like a bubble.
Dr Timothy Davies, a researcher in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University, said: “Just like a bubble in water, this cavity rises through the hot gas. Grains (star clusters) form when gas is compressed against a bubble, which allows the material to cool and form regularly spaced star clusters.
The team added that their research results, published in the Astrophysical Journal, could shed light on how black holes act as “cosmic thermostats” to prevent the collapse of gas in galaxy clusters.
Black hole explosions, such as those that helped form superclusters in SDSS J 1531, are expected to be important in keeping the gas in galaxy clusters hot, Dr Davies added. Finding such clear evidence that this process continues allows us to understand the impact of supermassive black holes on their environment.
During the study, the research team analyzed data from X-ray and optical radio telescopes and reconstructed the sequence of cosmic events.
Multiwavelength data provide clues to an ancient giant outburst in SDSS J 1531, which scientists believe was responsible for creating 19 star clusters.
Evidence for the hole comes from the bright wings of X-ray emission that Chandra has seen tracking the dense gas near the center of SDSS J 1531. These “wings” are the edge of the cavity and low-density gas.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a radio telescope, detected radio waves and X-rays emitting from the edge of the crater.
“This system clearly contains a very active black hole that explodes repeatedly and strongly affects the surrounding gas,” Dr. Davis noted. Here we discover compelling evidence and see its effect at once.
Source: The Independent
