Yale: Milky Way's SMBH May Have 'Unseen' Siblings

Find out the latest thinking about our universe.
Post Reply
User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21571
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

Yale: Milky Way's SMBH May Have 'Unseen' Siblings

Post by bystander » Tue Apr 24, 2018 5:31 pm

Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole May Have 'Unseen' Siblings
Yale University | 2018 Apr 24
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Astronomers are beginning to understand what happens when black holes get the urge to roam the Milky Way.

Typically, a supermassive black hole (SMBH) exists at the core of a massive galaxy. But sometimes SMBHs may “wander” throughout their host galaxy, remaining far from the center in regions such as the stellar halo, a nearly spherical area of stars and gas that surrounds the main section of the galaxy.

Astronomers theorize that this phenomenon often occurs as a result of mergers between galaxies in an expanding universe. A smaller galaxy will join with a larger, main galaxy, depositing its own, central SMBH onto a wide orbit within the new host.

In a new study ... researchers ... predict that galaxies with a mass similar to the Milky Way should host several supermassive black holes.

The team used a new, state-of-the-art cosmological simulation, Romulus, to predict the dynamics of SMBHs within galaxies with better accuracy than previous simulation programs. ...

Wandering Supermassive Black Holes in Milky-Way-Mass Halos - Michael Tremmel et al
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

Post Reply