A groundbreaking cosmic discovery has finally solved a long-standing mystery that had puzzled astronomers for years. An international team of astrophysicists, led by Queen’s University Belfast, has revealed that a massive black hole ripped apart one star and is now using the stellar debris to collide with another star or smaller black hole.
This significant breakthrough was made possible by utilising Nasa’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other cutting-edge telescopes. By observing the interaction between the torn-apart star’s remains circling the black hole and an orbiting star or smaller black hole, astronomers were able to capture spectacular light shows and bursts of X-rays.
Lead author Dr Matt Nicholl of Queen’s University Belfast compared the scenario to a diver creating a splash in a pool each time they enter the water. The collisions between the orbiting star and the debris disc around the black hole occur approximately every 48 hours, resulting in the emission of gas and X-rays.
Astronomers have traditionally observed objects being destroyed by black holes in singular events known as “tidal disruption events” (TDEs). However, recent findings of repeated, bright X-ray flashes associated with supermassive black holes, named “quasi-periodic eruptions” (QPEs), posed a new mystery for scientists to unravel.
Co-author Dr Dheeraj Pasham from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology expressed the excitement of uncovering the connection between these two phenomena and described it as a “cosmic two-for-one” in terms of solving mysteries. The research team’s data analysis, which combined observations from Chandra, Nicer, and the Hubble Space Telescope, solidified the link between the phenomena and provided valuable insights into the origins of regular eruptions.
Dr Andrew Mummery from Oxford University highlighted the breakthrough’s significance in understanding the time delay required for these eruptions to occur after a star is torn apart. The implications of this discovery extend to the search for more QPEs related to tidal disruptions, offering opportunities to measure the prevalence and distances of objects in close orbits around supermassive black holes and potentially informing future gravitational wave observatories.
The research findings will be published in the October issue of Nature, showcasing the collaborative efforts and innovative technology that led to this groundbreaking cosmic discovery.