Hubble spots “impossible” debris disk around a black hole

Science & Tech 11:13 15.07.2019

The Hubble Space Telescope is like an old dog that is constantly teaching the astronomical community new tricks. In the course of its almost thirty years in operation, it has revealed vital data about the expansion of the Universe, its age, the Milky Way, supermassive black holes (SMBHs), other star systems and exoplanets, and the planets of the Solar System, Universe Today reports.

Most recently, an international team of researchers using Hubble made a discovery that was not only fascinating but entirely unexpected. In the heart of the spiral galaxy NGC 3147, they spotted a swirling thin disk of gas that was precariously close to a back hole that is about 250 million Solar masses. The find was a complete surprise since the black hole was considered too small to have such a structure around it.

Located roughly 130 million light-years from Earth, NGC 3147 is a spiral galaxy with a relatively small SMBH at its core. The things is, according to current astronomical theories, a black hole of this size should not have a disk orbiting it. However, since the disk orbits so closely to the Event Horizon of this SMBH, it presents astronomers with an opportunity to test Einstein’s theories of both Special and General Relativity.

Artist’s impression of the path of the star S2 as it passes very close to the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

 

As Stefano Bianchi – a researcher from the Università degli Studi Roma Tre and the lead author on the study – explained in a recent NASA Hubble press release:

“This is an intriguing peek at a disk very close to a black hole, so close that the velocities and the intensity of the gravitational pull are affecting how the photons of light look. We cannot understand the data unless we include the theories of relativity.”

In smaller galaxies like NGC 3147, there is not supposed to be enough gravitationally-captured material to feed their SMBHs regularly – effectively making them “malnourished black holes”. As such, the small amount of infalling material that they do consume is likely to inflate and form a donut-shaped torus, rather than flattening out into a thin disk.

Read: Ancient tree could hold key to Earth’s magnetic field reversal

It was therefore rather surprising to see a disk encircling the black hole in NGC 3147 that resembles the more powerful ones found around much larger SMBHs at the center of extremely active galaxies. As Ari Laor of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, explained:

“We thought this was the best candidate to confirm that below certain luminosities, the accretion disk doesn’t exist anymore. What we saw was something completely unexpected. We found gas in motion producing features we can explain only as being produced by material rotating in a thin disk very close to the black hole.”

Illustration of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF

Illustration of a supermassive black hole surrounded by a debris disk. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF

 

These observations were particularly surprising since the research team initially selected NGC 3147 to validate accepted models of galaxies. These models predict that accretion disks form when gas is trapped by a SMBHs gravitational pull. As the disks gain speed from the black hole’s rotatonal velocity, they begin to emit intense light, producing a bright nuclear known as a quasar.

However, once less material is pulled into the disk, it begins to break down and becomes fainter. When the team looked at NGC 3147, they were expecting to see a lower-luminosity active galaxy with a malnourished black hole. As Bianchi explained:

“The type of disk we see is a scaled-down quasar that we did not expect to exist. It’s the same type of disk we see in objects that are 1,000 or even 100,000 times more luminous. The predictions of current models for gas dynamics in very faint active galaxies clearly failed.”

Read: Russian satellite placed into orbit

As noted, because the disk is so deeply embedded in the black hole’s intense gravitational field, the light from the gas disk is modified in accordance with Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. This theory describes how the curvature of space-time is altered in the presence of a gravitational field, which can even affect the behavior of light (which is described by Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity).

Based on their observations with Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), the team determined that the material in the disk was moving at more than 10% the speed of light. At these extreme velocities, the material in the disk appeared to brighten as it traveled toward Earth on one side and dimmed as it sped away on the other (an effect known as relativistic beaming).

The Hubble observations also showed that the gas is so embedded in the black hole’s gravitational well that the wavelength of the light is being stretched, making it appear redder. Thanks to STIS’s sharp resolution, the team was able to isolate the faint light coming from the black hole region and block out contaminating light. As Chiaberge said:

“Without Hubble, we wouldn’t have been able to see this because the black-hole region has a low luminosity. The luminosities of the stars in the galaxy outshine anything in the nucleus. So if you observe it from the ground, you’re dominated by the brightness of the stars, which drowns the feeble emission from the nucleus.”

The team hopes to build on this latest discovery by using Hubble to hunt for similar compact disks around low-luminosity black holes. If successful, the resulting discoveries will provide astronomers with additional opportunities to view relativity in action.

Azerbaijan Defense Minister informs NATO chief on situation in Azerbaijan-Armenia conditional border -VIDEO

News line

Referees to officiate U21 match Azerbaijan vs. England announced
Referees to officiate U21 match Azerbaijan vs. England announced
15:30 19.03.2024
Putin to visit China after inauguration
Putin to visit China after inauguration
15:15 19.03.2024
NATO Secretary General: Baku, Yerevan can reach lasting peace
NATO Secretary General: Baku, Yerevan can reach lasting peace
15:00 19.03.2024
German envoy congratulates people of Azerbaijan on Novruz holiday
German envoy congratulates people of Azerbaijan on Novruz holiday
14:45 19.03.2024
Hikmat Hajiyev: Baku attaches great importance to developing Azerbaijan-China relations
Hikmat Hajiyev: Baku attaches great importance to developing Azerbaijan-China relations
14:30 19.03.2024
Tourist flow to Azerbaijan soars by almost 50%
Tourist flow to Azerbaijan soars by almost 50%
14:15 19.03.2024
Manager of German club achieves another milestone
13:55 19.03.2024
Turkish intelligence neutralizes one of PKK leaders
Turkish intelligence neutralizes one of PKK leaders
13:45 19.03.2024
Moldova’s Foreign Ministry to expel Russian Embassy employee
Moldova’s Foreign Ministry to expel Russian Embassy employee
13:30 19.03.2024
Azerbaijan weather forecast for March 20
13:13 19.03.2024
Israel, Hamas ready to compromise at Doha talks
13:05 19.03.2024
More than dozen workers trapped in one of Russia's largest gold mines
More than dozen workers trapped in one of Russia's largest gold mines
12:49 19.03.2024
Armenia may face a war if refuses to discuss border issues - Pashinyan
12:22 19.03.2024
North Korea holds firing drill using super-large multiple rocket launchers
North Korea holds firing drill using super-large multiple rocket launchers
11:55 19.03.2024
Fenerbahçe to discuss withdrawing from 'Super Lig'
11:32 19.03.2024
Azerbaijani police found numerous weapons and ammunition in Khankandi
11:08 19.03.2024
US Maritime Administration issues new advisory amid rising maritime threats in Middle East
10:55 19.03.2024
EU looks forward to cooperation with Azerbaijan for successful COP29
10:38 19.03.2024
EU to impose tariffs on Russian grain
10:11 19.03.2024
Embassy of Azerbaijan in France appeals to Azerbaijanis
10:00 19.03.2024
Azerbaijani oil price exceeds $88
Azerbaijani oil price exceeds $88
09:48 19.03.2024
Mehriban Aliyeva makes post on Last Tuesday before Novruz Holiday
09:35 19.03.2024
Pashinyan: Delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan entered practical stage
09:00 19.03.2024
Pakistan restricts foreign travels of ministers, government officials
Pakistan restricts foreign travels of ministers, government officials
20:39 18.03.2024
EU to boost military support fund for Ukraine by EUR 5 bln — Hungarian foreign minister
20:00 18.03.2024
Industrial zones to be created in Azerbaijan’s Zangilan, Jabrayil, and Gubadli
19:16 18.03.2024
Reuters: Only an oil slump can stop Russia
19:00 18.03.2024
Top Hamas operative killed in hospital raid, IDF says
Top Hamas operative killed in hospital raid, IDF says
18:33 18.03.2024
President Ilham Aliyev congratulates people of Azerbaijan on occasion of Novruz holiday - UPDATED
18:00 18.03.2024
Jens Stoltenberg: We fully support Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity
Jens Stoltenberg: We fully support Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity
17:47 18.03.2024
2 dead, 6 injured in Türkiye factory explosion
2 dead, 6 injured in Türkiye factory explosion
17:28 18.03.2024
Armenia’s anti-Russian policy reaches new level
17:11 18.03.2024
"The Middle Corridor plays a key role for Green Energy" - Expert Ali Pasha
16:45 18.03.2024
Central square of Khankandi named “Victory Square”
16:22 18.03.2024
President: We demonstrated tremendous heroism during the II Karabakh War and the anti-terror operation
16:16 18.03.2024
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus visited IEPF - PHOTOS - VIDEO
16:00 18.03.2024
Historic opportunity emerged to advance the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace agenda - FM Bayramov
15:21 18.03.2024
Bayramov and Stoltenberg discuss normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia
15:03 18.03.2024
Azerbaijan Defense Minister informs NATO chief on situation in Azerbaijan-Armenia conditional border -VIDEO
14:58 18.03.2024
Stoltenberg's visit to the Caucasus: "NATO is in panic" - OPİNİON
14:29 18.03.2024
Hamısı