The researchers said their work opens up the "tantalising possibility" that astronomers can discover more ultramassive black holes than previously thought. "This approach could let us detect many more black holes beyond our local universe and reveal how these exotic objects evolved further back in cosmic time." "However, gravitational lensing makes it possible to study inactive black holes, something not currently possible in distant galaxies. The scientists used supercomputer simulations at Durham University and images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope to confirm the size of the supermassive black hole.ĭr Nightingale said: "Most of the biggest black holes that we know about are in an active state, where matter pulled in close to the black hole heats up and releases energy in the form of light, X-rays and other radiation. This revealed the presence of the ultramassive black hole, a region where gravity's pull is so powerful that not even light can escape. The researchers used a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, where they took help from a nearby galaxy by converting it into a giant magnifying glass. The team intends to follow up on this research by examining other quasars that are at a wider range of distances and that have been detected using other methods, to see if they have the same features that connect them to galactic collisions.Lead author Dr James Nightingale, of the Department of Physics at Durham University, said: "This particular black hole, which is roughly 30 billion times the mass of our Sun, is one of the biggest ever detected and on the upper limit of how large we believe black holes can theoretically become, so it is an extremely exciting discovery." "When this happens, it's likely that a quasar will be triggered as gas falls into the center of the remnant system." "The nearest large galaxy - the Andromeda Spiral - is coming directly towards us at a high velocity, and will collide and merge with the Milky Way in around 5 billion years," he said. Tadhunter also pointed out that understanding the connection between galactic collisions and quasars is vital in determining the future of our own corner of the cosmos. Since gas is required to form new stars, this will cut off any future star formation activity, effectively the death throes of the galaxy." "For example, the pressure of the radiation can expel the remaining gas in the remnant galaxy system. "It's important to understand how, when, and where quasars are triggered, as once triggered, the enormous radiative power generated by a quasar can have a major, damaging effect on the surrounding host galaxy," Tadhunter said. What's the biggest black hole in the universe? Black holes may be swallowing invisible matter that slows the movement of stars 1st image of our galaxy's 'black hole heart' unveiled Quasars can have a large influence on the evolution of galaxies that host them better understanding how quasars ignite could help scientists hone their models of galaxy evolution and the evolution of the universe as a whole. "We believe that much of the past ambiguity in this field is due to the fact that many of the previous imaging studies did not have sufficient depth to detect the sometimes faint distorted structures in the outer parts of the galaxies that host the quasars." ![]() "Some studies have found the expected structures but others have not," he continued. Tadhunter pointed out, however, that attempts to test this hypothesis by hunting for distorted structures at the outer parts of galaxies that are characteristic of such collisions had previously proved ambiguous. The team's research isn't the first time galactic mergers have been linked to quasars. "This provides strong evidence that quasars are indeed triggered in galaxy collisions." "We found a high rate of such structures in quasar-hosting galaxies, three times that measured for a carefully matched control sample of non-quasar galaxies that were imaged with the same techniques," Tadhunter said. These structures also indicate a past or ongoing collision and merger with another galaxy, Tadhunter said. When comparing 48 nearby galaxies hosting quasars to 100 non-quasar galaxies, the researchers discovered the presence of distorted structures at the edges of the quasar-hosting galaxies. Two spiral galaxies collide, triggering a burst of star formation (red).
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