Ar-Rehman

Astronomers have discovered a new Black Hole which breaks the existing Rules

Black holes come in different size classes. At the smaller end of the scale are the stellar-mass black holes born in the ashes of supernova explosions. At the top end of the scale are the supermassive black holes, which can grow to have many millions or billions of times the mass of our sun, lurking in the hearts of galaxies. In between those categories are intermediate-mass black holes (IMBH), which have mass ranging from hundreds up to 100,000 solar masses, or thereabouts. "They represent a crucial missing link in black hole evolution between stellar mass and supermassive black holes," Yi-Chi Chang of the National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan said. Astronomers have made a ground breaking discovery with the James Webb Space Telescope, identifying a unique black hole in the Infinity Galaxy that challenges existing theories about cosmic formation and evolution. Following are the some of the important points;-

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers discovered an unusual black hole in the Infinity Galaxy.

The discovery challenges traditional theories, suggesting a direct collapse formation of black holes.

The galaxy’s unique infinity shape resulted from a head-on collision of two disk galaxies.

Researchers are analysing data to confirm if the black hole formed directly from a massive gas cloud.

The intermediate-mass black holes are hard to find, partly because they tend not to be as active as supermassive black holes or as obvious as a stellar-mass black hole when its progenitor star goes supernova. However, occasionally, an IMBH will spark to life when it instigates a tidal disruption event. This happens when a star or gas cloud gets too close to the black hole and gravitational tidal forces rip the star or gas cloud apart, producing bursts of X-rays. X-ray sources with such extreme luminosity are rare outside galaxy nuclei and can serve as a key probe for identifying elusive IMBHs. In 2009, Chandra spotted anomalous X-rays originating from a region 40,000 light-years from the centre of a giant elliptical galaxy called NGC 6099, which lies 453 million light-years from us. This bright new X-ray source was called HLX-1, and its X-ray spectrum indicated that the source of the X-rays was 5.4 million degrees Fahrenheit (3 million degrees Celsius), a temperature consistent with the violence of a tidal disruption event. But the recent discovery of an unusual black hole in the Infinity Galaxy by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has stirred curiosity and excitement among astronomers and space enthusiasts alike. This ground breaking observation challenges existing theories about the formation of supermassive black holes and offers a tantalizing glimpse into the universe’s early days. The Infinity Galaxy, with its distinct infinity shape, has become the focal point of this intriguing find, and scientists are eager to unravel the mysteries it holds. As we delve deeper into the details of this discovery, we uncover a story of cosmic collisions, direct collapse black holes and the relentless pursuit of understanding the cosmos.

Making new observations is key to better understanding the role they play in the black hole ecosystem. One model suggests that supermassive black holes might form and grow through the merger of many IMBH, but nobody knows how common intermediate-mass black holes are in the universe. At the heart of this cosmic drama lies the Infinity Galaxy, a celestial body unlike any other. Resembling an infinity symbol, this galaxy is a product of two disk galaxies which collided head-on, creating a unique shape with two red lobes or “nuclei.” This collision, while not uncommon in the universe, has resulted in an exceptional formation. Within this galactic structure, astronomers have identified a black hole that defies conventional understanding. Positioned between the two colliding galaxies, this black hole is surrounded by a vast cloud of gas, feeding voraciously on its surroundings. Researchers believe that this very cloud may have been the birthplace of the black hole, offering the first observational evidence of a direct collapse black hole. The traditional understanding of black hole formation involves the collapse of massive stars into stellar-mass black holes, which then merge and grow over time. This process, however, takes billions of years, making it difficult to explain the presence of supermassive black holes in the early universe. The JWST’s observations have challenged this notion, suggesting that black holes could form rapidly through a direct collapse mechanism, bypassing the stellar phase entirely. This theory, known as the “heavy seed” hypothesis, posits that a massive gas cloud could collapse directly into a black hole, providing a quicker route to supermassive status.

The discovery was made during the JWST’s extensive 255-hour COSMOS-Web survey, which aimed to explore the early universe. The findings have not only revealed the existence of the black hole but also highlighted the presence of supermassive black holes within each nucleus of the colliding galaxies. The peculiar location of the black hole, coupled with its rapid growth, poses intriguing questions about its origin and the processes which govern such phenomena in the universe. While this idea offers a solution to the conundrum of early supermassive black holes, it also raises new questions about the conditions required for such a collapse. Gas clouds typically fragment into stars rather than collapsing into a single massive object, so understanding the factors that prevent fragmentation is crucial. The Infinity Galaxy, with its evidence of a direct collapse black hole, provides a rare opportunity to study this process and refine our theories about black hole formation. The discovery of a direct collapse black hole in the Infinity Galaxy has far-reaching implications for astronomy and cosmology. It challenges existing models of black hole formation and opens new avenues for research into the early universe. Understanding how such massive objects can form so quickly could provide insights into the conditions of the universe shortly after the Big Bang, shedding light on the processes which shaped the cosmos we observe today.

The heavy seed theory, while compelling, requires further evidence to support its validity. In the case of the Infinity Galaxy, the collision between the two disk galaxies may have played a pivotal role in the formation of the direct collapse black hole. The violent collision likely resulted in the compression of gas, creating a dense knot which could collapse into a black hole. The presence of ionized gas and X-ray emissions from the black hole supports this hypothesis, suggesting active growth and energy release. To solidify this theory, researchers are focused on measuring the velocity of the gas and the black hole. If their velocities align, it would strongly indicate that the black hole formed from the gas cloud. As researchers continue to analyse the data from the JWST, the Infinity Galaxy serves as a reminder of the vast and complex nature of the universe. It underscores the importance of advanced telescopes and collaborative efforts in pushing the boundaries of our knowledge. With each new discovery, we are reminded of the mysteries which await us in the cosmos, prompting us to ask: What other secrets does the universe hold, and how will they reshape our understanding of the world around us? Fortunately, help is now on hand. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory comes fully online soon to begin a 10-year all-sky survey, and spotting the flares of tidal disruption events will be a piece of cake for it. Once it finds such an event, Hubble and Chandra will know where to look and can follow up on it.