Astronomers observe a supermassive black hole exhibiting an unprecedented increase in X-ray flashes. The most likely explanation is a spinning white dwarf, precariously close to the black hole's event horizon.
Astronomers have been observing a supermassive black hole called 1ES 1927+654 for several years, witnessing both its corona disappearing and reappearing and now, a dramatic increase in X-ray flashes. Located 100 million light-years away, this black hole, which is as massive as a million suns, shows a unique behavior. Over a two-year period, the X-ray flashes, occurring at millihertz oscillations, have sped up from every 18 minutes to every seven minutes.
This unprecedented acceleration in X-ray emissions has never been observed before from a black hole. \The researchers propose that the culprit behind these X-ray flashes is a spinning white dwarf, a dense core of a dead star, orbiting the black hole and nearing its event horizon, the point of no return. The white dwarf, in this scenario, is performing a delicate balancing act, staying close to the black hole's edge without actually falling in. This would be the closest known object to any black hole, revealing the potential for such objects to exist near event horizons for extended periods. \The observation of this rapid X-ray flickering suggests that the source is extremely close to the black hole. This proximity, combined with the X-ray emissions, points to the possibility of gravitational waves being generated, detectable by advanced observatories like NASA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). LISA is designed to detect oscillations on the scale of minutes, making this black hole system a prime target for further study. This discovery provides valuable insights into the behavior of objects near black holes and the generation of gravitational waves
BLACK HOLES WHITE DWARFS X-RAY FLASHES GRAVITATIONAL WAVES COSMIC EVENTS
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