Astronomers Think Powerful , Magnetic Winds Drive Growth , of Supermassive Black Holes.
'Newsweek' reports that scientists may have
unraveled the mystery of how supermassive
black holes are able to become so massive.
According to a new paper, a powerful magnetic
wind, comparable to water swirling around
a drain, is what allows these massive cosmic
phenomena to reach such immense sizes.
A supermassive black hole is typically millions to
billions of times more massive than our own sun
and is often found at the center of most galaxies. .
The paper, which was published in the journal 'Astronomy
and Astrophysics,' focused on the black hole at the
center of a galaxy about 120 million light-years from Earth.
This galaxy, known as ESO320-G030, is much more
active than our own Milky Way, with a rate of star
formation 10 times that of our own galaxy.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope,
researchers found a strong, rotating, magnetized
wind spinning around the center of the black hole.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope,
researchers found a strong, rotating, magnetized
wind spinning around the center of the black hole.
Since this galaxy is very
luminous in the infrared,
telescopes can resolve
striking details in its center. , Susanne Aalto, study co-author and a professor
of radio astronomy at Chalmers University
of Technology, via 'Newsweek'.
'Newsweek' reports that the team now hopes to observe the
centers of other galaxies to confirm if this process is what
enables a supermassive black hole's immense growth.
Far from all questions about this
process are answered. In our
observations we see clear evidence
of a rotating wind that helps
regulate the growth of the
galaxy's central black hole. , Mark Gorski, study co-author and an astronomer
at Chalmers University of Technology and
Northwestern University, via 'Newsweek'.
Now that we know what to look for,
the next step is to find out how
common a phenomenon this is.
And if this is a stage which all
galaxies with supermassive
black holes go through,
what happens to them next?, Mark Gorski, study co-author and an astronomer
at Chalmers University of Technology and
Northwestern University, via 'Newsweek'