The Collision of Circulating Black Holes: Causes and Consequences

Rep: Adysha Citra Ramadani Red: Friska Yolanda

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The rotation of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy can cause chaos in the cosmic path. In fact, this condition can slow down the orbit of another black hole that has the same mass as a star. As a result, collisions between black holes could be inevitable.

As is known, every large galaxy “lives” with a supermassive black hole at its core. The behavior of a supermassive black hole that continues to rotate can affect other celestial bodies around it, from disks of material that serve as “food” for the black hole, stars and their solar systems, to black holes another that is smaller and has mass. equal to a star.

The rotation of this black hole can also cause a “blockage” in the cosmic path which then slows down the orbits of several other black holes that have the same masses as stars. These affected black holes can be pushed and hit, melt, and then create a new, larger black hole.

Because the gravitational influence of supermassive black holes that cause this cosmic “barrier” is very large, the collision process between black holes can happen again and again. Over time, black hole collisions may involve several black holes of greater size or mass, with an estimated mass of about 3 times to several hundred times the mass of the Sun.

When viewed on a broader scale, the environment around supermassive black holes is the perfect environment for the growth of other, smaller black holes.

New findings about the cosmic “barrier” that gave rise to supermassive black holes have been revealed in a study led by researchers from Monash University. During the study, the research team observed the dynamics that occurred in several accretion disks and black holes near these disks.

The accretion disk is a disk full of gas and dust surrounding a supermassive black hole. This disk is “food” for the black hole. The strong gravity produced by a supermassive black hole produces strong tidal forces on the accretion disk and triggers the emergence of a region known as the Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) which can be seen glowing brightly.

When a black hole with the mass of a star is in the accretion disk, the black hole interacts with the surrounding gas. This situation causes the black hole to migrate on the disk.

The result is several holes….

As a result, a number of black holes with the same mass as a star will accumulate at a certain point in the accretion shaft. This area is known by its name migration traps or migration traps.

While inside migration traps This is where two black holes with the same mass as a star can touch, collide and merge with each other. This collision could happen because the cosmic “density” in that area is greater than in other areas around the galaxy. Location migration traps which contains several black holes with masses like stars, it is like a busy intersection with no red lights.

“Thermal effects play an important role in this process, affecting the condition and stability migratin seizures. It is one idea that we do not see migration traps occurs in active galaxies with brightness massive,” research team leader and Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy researcher Evgeni Grishin was quoted as saying. Place on Tuesday (30/4/2024).

This latest discovery has major implications for efforts to understand the process of merging and merging two black holes with masses like stars in space. In addition, this discovery is believed to be able to help astronomers’ efforts to understand gravitational waves, since the process of merging two black holes will cause gravitational waves.

“We are very happy with this decision, and we are now a step closer to finding out where and how the black hole merging process takes place in the heart of galaxies,” explained Grishin.

Grishin does not deny that there are still many things about black holes and the environment around black holes that are still unknown. Nevertheless, this discovery still has an important meaning in the development of astronomy. These latest findings were published in a journal Monthly Notice of the Royal Astronomical Society.