A Star Disappeared in Andromeda, Replaced by a Black Hole

Stars about 8 times more massive than the Sun end their lives as supernovae and leave black holes behind. But not always.

This Illustration shows a failed supernova turning directly into a black hole without an explosion. Credit: NASA/ESA/P. Jeffries

However, it appears that sometimes these stars fail to explode as supernovae and instead turn directly into black holes. The star in question is named M31-2014-DS1. Astronomers noticed it brightening in mid-infrared in 2014. For one thousand days, its luminosity was constant. Then, for another thousand days between 2016 and 2019, it faded dramatically. It’s a variable star, but that can’t explain these fluctuations. In 2023, it was undetected in deep optical and near-IR imaging observations.

“Lacking any evidence for a luminous outburst at such proximity, the observations of M31-2014-DS1 bespeak signatures of a ‘failed’ SN that leads to the collapse of the stellar core,” the authors explain.Supernovae are complex events. The density inside a collapsing core is so extreme that electrons are forced to combine with protons, creating both neutrons and neutrinos.

This image illustrates how the neutrino shock wave can stall, leading to a black hole without a supernova explosion.shows the initial shock wave with cyan lines representing neutrinos being emitted and the red circle representing the shock wave propagating outward.shows the neutrino shock stalling, with white arrows representing infalling matter. The outer layers fall inward, and the neutrino heating isn’t powerful enough to revive the shock.

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