Latest news with #ValeriaOlivares
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers catch black holes 'cooking' their own meals in bizarre, endless feeding cycle
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Black holes' ravenous, incessant feeding is fueled partly by the powerful jets of gas these gluttonous monsters blast into space, according to a new study. The research suggests that many black holes across the universe actively regulate the material they consume, essentially "cooking" their own meals. The findings also offer a fresh glimpse into the complex ways black holes interact with and co-evolve alongside their immediate surroundings. In the new study, a team led by Valeria Olivares, an astrophysicist at the University of Santiago in Chile, studied the blasts of X-rays and radio emissions from supermassive black holes lurking within seven galaxy clusters located between 170 million and 1 billion light-years from Earth. One of these is the Perseus Cluster — one of the most massive known structures in the universe — featured on the left in the image below. The bright-white pocket at the center is the collective light from black holes lurking in the cluster's many galaxies, each measuring anywhere from millions to tens of billions of times the mass of the sun. Related: What's the biggest black hole in the universe? The new analysis, based on data from the space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope in Chile, also revealed numerous neon-pink "veins" branching out from the galaxies. These wispy filaments represent warm gas flowing between galaxies; this gas has been shaped and sculpted by the energetic jets emitted from the nearby black holes. These tendrils of gas are key to sustaining the black holes' feeding cycle, according to the study, which was published Jan. 27 in the journal Nature Astronomy. RELATED STORIES —'Impossible' black holes detected by James Webb telescope may finally have an explanation — if this ultra-rare form of matter exists —Gravitational waves offer a 'cosmic DNA test' for black holes —Supermassive black holes in 'little red dot' galaxies are 1,000 times larger than they should be, and astronomers don't know why The interaction between black hole jets and this ambient gas allows the cosmic monsters to prepare themselves a constant supply of food, the researchers suggest. The jets that are blasted into space interact with the hot gas that fills the space between galaxies, thereby cooling it enough to shape it into structured, gas-filled filaments. These filaments then facilitate the movement of warm gas, funneling some of it back toward the centers of galaxies, where it further feeds the black holes and provides fuel for future jet outbursts. This cycle of feeding and jet emission establishes a delicate feedback loop that helps sustain the cosmic behemoths' activity and growth, according to the study. But there's another winner at this endless dinner party. The gas-filled filaments not only play a crucial role in the feeding cycles of black holes but also blow out cavities in intergalactic space, thus setting the stage for the formation of new stars, the study authors said.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New Study Shows Black Holes Prepare and Eat Their Own Dinner
It's no secret that black holes are some of the weirdest objects in space. Their disks are fluffy like cake, and diving into one is both interesting and terrifying. Now, a group of astronomers used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope to show that black holes can cook their own meals. No, really. According to a new scientific model produced in the study, which was led by Valeria Olivares from the University of Santiago de Chile, black holes are surrounded by gas of varying temperatures. Black holes consume the warm gas, which causes them to have what the researchers refer to as an "outburst." The outburst cools the hotter gas nearby, which then allows the cycle to repeat itself. Here's how it works. In the above image, the black holes are the bright white spots in the center of the gas clouds. The purple cloud represents the hot gases while the pink veins — which researchers call "filaments" — show the warm gas. The black hole eats the warm gas by drawing it in. This causes a reaction in the black hole that shoots jets into the gas cloud. These jets cool down the purple cloud to create new pink veins. The process then repeats time and again. The researchers note that turbulence in the gas clouds also plays an important role in the process. In this context, turbulence is defined as "the disordered, irregular motion of matter, so complex as to defy description except in a statistical manner." Previously, researchers had seen black holes, gas clouds, and gas-filled filaments but were unsure about their relationship to one another. The new model helps answer that question by showing that all three phenomena are linked. The black hole eats the filaments and uses them to generate a reaction that cools the gas and creates new filaments. It also helps researchers better understand other parts of the universe. For example, the relationship between black holes and their gas clouds shares some similarities to jellyfish galaxies. Jellyfish galaxies are noted for their jellyfish-like appearance that is caused by gas being stripped away from the galaxy as it floats through the cosmos. Researchers say the similarities are unexpected and may help solve even more mysteries about space. In addition, the model helps researchers better understand the warm gas-filled filaments, which can help better understand how stars form. In a previous study, researchers found that jets from black holes cool the hot gas. Cold, dense gas is where stars are born, so the logic is that black holes help create the correct environment for star formation.
