Astronomers register the initial speed burst of a baby black hole, propelling it throughout the cosmos
Newborn Black Hole Escape Velocity Sheds Light on Supermassive Black Hole Formation
A groundbreaking study, published on Sept. 9 in the journal Nature Astronomy, has revealed exciting new insights about the formation of supermassive black holes. The study focuses on a significant event that occurred on April 12, 2019, when the Advanced LIGO detectors in Louisiana and Washington State, and the Virgo detector in Italy recorded the merger of two stellar-mass black holes.
The merged black hole, 38.1 times as massive as the sun, was found to have received a "natal kick" due to the collision, sending it racing away from its birth site at an astonishing speed of 111,600 miles per hour (179,600 kilometers per hour). This discovery has fueled speculation that the scientists may have detected the first known triple black hole system in the universe.
The natal kick of the newborn black hole is crucial for understanding the formation of supermassive black holes, which can be 100,000 to 50 billion times the mass of the sun. By observing the direction and speed of the kick, researchers can track the growth of these cosmic monsters.
Prior to this study, the model for measuring the natal kick had to rely on simulations as no black hole merger resulting in a recoil had been detected. However, Juan Calderón Bustillo, a study co-author, and his colleagues figured out how to measure the natal kick based on gravitational wave signals in 2018.
The researchers used two angles relative to Earth to determine the direction and speed of the kick sent to the newborn black hole. By studying the mass ratio and spin of the two original black holes from gravitational waves, they were able to confirm their calculations.
Koustav Chandra, an astrophysicist at Pennsylvania State University, is a co-author of the study. The team's next steps will be to look for more black hole mergers to measure with both gravitational waves and visible light.
Gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by violent events such as black hole collisions, were first detected in 2015. The detection of these waves has opened up a new era of astronomy, allowing scientists to study the universe in ways never before possible.
This latest study could yield deeper insights into how supermassive black holes grow, shedding light on one of the most mysterious phenomena in the universe. As more black hole mergers are detected and studied, our understanding of these cosmic monsters is sure to grow.
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