Northwestern: Unexpected Matter Found in Hostile Black Hole Winds

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

Northwestern: Unexpected Matter Found in Hostile Black Hole Winds

Post by bystander » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:45 pm

Newborns or Survivors? The Unexpected Matter Found in Hostile Black Hole Winds
Northwestern University | 2018 Jan 30
[img3="Black-hole winds sweep away the gas in galaxies
Artist's impression. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
"]https://news.northwestern.edu/assets/Up ... as-ESA.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]
New theory predicts origins of molecules in destructive cosmic outflows. Predicts that new molecules are born in black hole winds. May explain how stars form in extreme environments. Will be put to the test when the James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2019.

The existence of large numbers of molecules in winds powered by supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies has puzzled astronomers since they were discovered more than a decade ago. Molecules trace the coldest parts of space, and black holes are the most energetic phenomena in the universe, so finding molecules in black hole winds was like discovering ice in a furnace.

Astronomers questioned how anything could survive the heat of the energetic outflows, but a new theory from researchers in Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Exploration in Astrophysics (CIERA) predicts that these molecules are not survivors at all, but brand-new molecules, born in the winds with unique properties that enable them to adapt to and thrive in the hostile environment. ...

The origin of fast molecular outflows in quasars:
Molecule formation in AGN-driven galactic winds
- Alexander J. Richings, Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere
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

saturno2
Commander
Posts: 755
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:05 pm

Re: Northwestern: Unexpected Matter Found in Hostile Black Hole Winds

Post by saturno2 » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:30 pm

Very, very interesting

Post Reply