Scientists have managed to measure with unprecedented precision one of the most powerful phenomena in the universe: the energy streams emerging from a black hole.
Using a network of radio telescopes covering the globe, researchers recorded so-called "dancing jets" erupting from a black hole about 7,000 light-years from Earth.
These streams of matter emit energy equivalent to the radiation of about 10,000 suns and move at about 150,000 kilometers per second — about half the speed of light. However, these “sources” of superheated matter use only about 10% of the energy that the black hole absorbs during the accretion process.
The discovery comes from the binary system Cygnus X-1, where a giant star coexists with a black hole. The star emits powerful stellar winds, losing mass at a rate millions of times greater than our Sun, at speeds several times higher.
These winds are so strong that they bend the direction of the jets by about two degrees — similar to wind distorting a stream of water.
According to Professor James Miller-Jones from Curtin University, this interaction allows the real power of the jets to be measured: by knowing the strength of the star's wind, their energy can be precisely calculated.
Black holes are among the most mysterious objects in the universe, with gravity so strong that not even light can escape. But as they suck in matter, they also create powerful bursts of energy in the form of relativistic jets.
As matter falls toward the black hole, it behaves like water swirling down a drain, accelerating to near the speed of light. The magnetic fields that accompany this matter twist and help "release" the jets.
These structures can extend for light years and strongly affect the surrounding environment.
Accurately measuring their power is essential for understanding how quickly a black hole feeds and grows. Until now, scientists could only estimate the average energy of the jets over very long periods of time, by analyzing the bubbles they create in the surrounding gas.
The problem was that this method could not be accurately correlated with the actual rate of “feeding” the black hole. The new measurement allows for the first time to accurately determine the percentage of energy of the infalling matter that is converted into jets.
This is a significant achievement, because scientific models suggest that the physics of black holes should be the same regardless of their size — from those with the mass of a few suns to those billions of times larger.
This result could serve as a benchmark for future studies on the evolution of the universe.
The jets of supermassive black holes play a key role in how stars, planets, and galaxies form. In some cases, they can create bubbles of gas larger than the galaxy they are located in, directly influencing its evolution.
According to the researchers, this process called "feedback" is essential for understanding the growth of galaxies.
In simulations of the universe, scientists have until now been forced to make assumptions about how efficient black holes are at converting energy into jets. The new measurements provide a direct observational basis for the first time, giving these models a much stronger scientific foundation. /GazetaExpress/
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