Northwestern University | 2018 Jan 10
Supercomputer power enables advanced simulations of relativistic jets’ behavior
Through first-of-their-kind supercomputer simulations, researchers, including a Northwestern University professor, have gained new insight into one of the most mysterious phenomena in modern astronomy: the behavior of relativistic jets that shoot from black holes, extending outward across millions of light years.Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Advanced simulations created with one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers show the jets’ streams gradually change direction in the sky, or precess, as a result of space-time being dragged into the rotation of the black hole. This behavior aligns with Albert Einstein’s predictions about extreme gravity near rotating black holes, published in his famous theory of general relativity.
“Understanding how rotating black holes drag the space-time around them and how this process affects what we see through the telescopes remains a crucial, difficult-to-crack puzzle,” said Alexander Tchekhovskoy, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “Fortunately, the breakthroughs in code development and leaps in supercomputer architecture are bringing us ever closer to finding the answers.” ...
Formation of Precessing Jets by Tilted Black-hole Discs in 3D General Relativistic MHD Simulations - Matthew Liska et al
- Monthly Notices of the RAS: Letters 474(1):L81 (Feb 2018) DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slx174
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1707.06619 > 20 Jul 2017 (v1), 01 Nov 2017 (v3)