Astronomers observed a white dwarf slowing down as it approached a supermassive black hole, challenging existing models of black hole accretion.
Black holes are among the most enigmatic and powerful objects in the cosmos. These gravitational behemoths form when massive stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and collapse under their own gravity, expelling their outer layers in a spectacular supernova explosion. Their existence has been confirmed by various observations, including the detection of gravitational waves and the study of stars orbiting unseen objects.
A recent study led by astronomers from MIT has shed new light on the interactions between black holes and their surrounding environment. Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the team observed oscillations in the X-ray emissions of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) located in a neighboring galaxy. These oscillations suggested that the SMBH was accreting matter, possibly a white dwarf star.But instead of tearing the white dwarf apart as predicted by conventional models, the observations revealed a curious phenomenon: the white dwarf appeared to be slowing down as it spiraled into the black hole. This unexpected behavior has never been observed before and challenges our understanding of how black holes interact with their surroundings.The study suggests that as the white dwarf approached the black hole, its immense gravitational pull began to strip matter from the companion star. This mass loss could have offset the energy removed by gravitational waves, halting the white dwarf's inward motion and resulting in the observed stabilization of the oscillations. This finding opens up new avenues for exploring the complex physics of black hole accretion and the evolution of binary systems containing white dwarfs and supermassive black holes
Black Holes White Dwarfs Supermassive Black Holes Gravitational Waves Accretion Disks
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