Three Supermassive Black Holes Discovered In a Single Galaxy For the First Time (phys.org) 12
Astronomers using JWST have found three actively feeding supermassive black holes in the distant galaxy J0148-4214, seen as it existed about 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang. Two sit just 620 light-years apart near the galaxy's center and are expected to merge within a few hundred million years. Phys.org reports: Theories of galaxy evolution -- based on observations -- suggest that, early in the history of the universe, galaxies came very close to one another and merged. In the process, black holes at their centers also merged, giving rise to even more massive black holes at the centers of the merged galaxies. The analysis yields black hole masses of approximately 80 million, 0.6 million and 2 million solar masses. The most massive black hole is accreting at a lower rate than the nearby black hole with a mass of 0.6 million solar masses, which is actively feeding and even exceeding the maximum accretion rate predicted by basic theories of black hole growth (the Eddington limit).
"The JWST data allowed us not only to identify the three black holes, but also to estimate their masses, accretion rates and the stellar mass of the galaxy," says Dr. Giovanni Mazzolari, second author of the study and researcher at MPE. "We find a total stellar mass of about 1.3 billion solar masses, and the black holes represent a significant fraction of that."
The central black hole pair is expected to merge within the next few hundred million years. "These results are extremely exciting," adds Roberto Maiolino, professor at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study. "They suggest that black hole merging may be an additional, fast route for their rapid growth in the early universe." The third black hole, located off-nucleus, may be the remnant of a previous merger, be displaced from the center by a gravitational recoil kick, or be currently migrating inward. The findings have been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
"The JWST data allowed us not only to identify the three black holes, but also to estimate their masses, accretion rates and the stellar mass of the galaxy," says Dr. Giovanni Mazzolari, second author of the study and researcher at MPE. "We find a total stellar mass of about 1.3 billion solar masses, and the black holes represent a significant fraction of that."
The central black hole pair is expected to merge within the next few hundred million years. "These results are extremely exciting," adds Roberto Maiolino, professor at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study. "They suggest that black hole merging may be an additional, fast route for their rapid growth in the early universe." The third black hole, located off-nucleus, may be the remnant of a previous merger, be displaced from the center by a gravitational recoil kick, or be currently migrating inward. The findings have been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Incredible! (Score:1)
It says most of the light coming from that galaxy is from this black hole star alone, and it doesn't even work via nuclear fusion! And I read elsewhere these kind of stars could last a couple hundred billion years, giving intelligent life ample opportunity arise.
That is all just so fucking insanely cool!
Re: Incredible! (Score:2)
Light comes from a hot metal filament in a light bulb too, or a LED, so what fusion has to do with this is a mystery. The sun's light comes from the surface, the fusion is in the core.
It is highly doubtful that the radiation blasted hell around these black holes is hospitable to any kind of life.
Re: Incredible! (Score:5, Interesting)
Light comes from a hot metal filament in a light bulb too, or a LED, so what fusion has to do with this is a mystery.
The intensity of light coming out of a black hole's accretion disk is orders of magnitude larger than any lightbulb or LED. If all you knew about astronomy was how stars work, yes, you'd expect that brightly-glowing things would be powered by fusion. But no, turns out that gravitational contraction, for ultra-massive compact objects, can be amazingly effective in producing radiative energy out of the potential energy of infalling matter.
The sun's light comes from the surface, the fusion is in the core. It is highly doubtful that the radiation blasted hell around these black holes is hospitable to any kind of life.
True that! (This is one of the gaping flaws in the science of the film "Interstellar:" the astronauts (and their robot) would all die very quickly of radiation exposure.)
Re: (Score:2)
There's mold inside the Pripyat containment vessel.
Re: (Score:2)
This.
Unless there us some characteristic of accretion disk radiation that is particularly hostile to life.
"within the next hundred million years" (Score:2)
it seems they're trying to make that sound like "really soon", but wow that's a long time as far as people are concerned....
that's well over a million generations of humans
Didn't they merge billions of years ago? (Score:4, Informative)
It'll be visible here in a hundred million years, but it will be very old news by then.
Re:Didn't they merge billions of years ago? (Score:5, Funny)
but it will be very old news by then.
This is Slashdot.
The collision (Score:1)
Two sit just 620 light-years apart near the galaxy's center and are expected to merge within a few hundred million years
!remindme
Three? (Score:2)
They just copied the ending scene from "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly."