Perseus Cluster: X-ray:
NASA/CXC/SAO/V. Olivares et al.; Optical/IR: DSS; H-alpha: CFHT/SITELLE;
Centaurus Cluster: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/V. Olivaresi et al.; Optical/IR:
NASA/ESA/STScI; H-alpha: ESO/VLT/MUSE; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
Astronomers have taken a crucial step in showing that the most
massive black holes in the universe can create their own meals. Data from NASA’s
Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) provide new evidence that
outbursts from black holes can help cool down gas to feed themselves.
This study was based on
observations of seven clusters of galaxies. The centers of galaxy clusters contain the universe’s most massive
galaxies, which harbor huge black holes with masses ranging from millions to
tens of billions of times that of the Sun. Jets from these black holes are
driven by the black holes feasting on gas.
These images show two of the galaxy
clusters in the study, the Perseus Cluster and the Centaurus Cluster. Chandra
data represented in blue reveals X-rays from filaments of hot gas, and data from the
VLT, an optical telescope in Chile, shows cooler filaments in red.
The results support a model where
outbursts from the black holes trigger hot gas to cool and form narrow
filaments of warm gas. Turbulence in the gas also plays an important role in this triggering process.
According to this model, some of
the warm gas in these filaments should then flow into the centers of the
galaxies to feed the black holes, causing an outburst. The outburst causes more
gas to cool and feed the black holes, leading to further outbursts.
This model predicts there will be a
relationship between the brightness of filaments of hot and warm gas in the
centers of galaxy clusters. More specifically, in regions where the hot gas is
brighter, the warm gas should also be brighter. The team of astronomers has,
for the first time, discovered such a relationship, giving critical support for
the model.
This result also provides new
understanding of these gas-filled filaments, which are important not just for
feeding black holes but also for causing new stars to form. This advance was
made possible by an innovative technique that isolates the hot filaments in the
Chandra X-ray data from other structures, including large cavities in the hot
gas created by the black hole’s jets.
The newly found relationship for
these filaments shows remarkable similarity to the one found in the tails of
jellyfish galaxies, which have had gas stripped away from them as they travel
through surrounding gas, forming long tails. This similarity reveals an
unexpected cosmic connection between the two objects and implies a similar
process is occurring in these objects.
This work was led by Valeria
Olivares from the University of Santiago de Chile, and was published Monday in
Nature Astronomy. The study brought together international experts in optical
and X-ray observations and simulations from the United States, Chile,
Australia, Canada, and Italy. The work relied on the capabilities of the MUSE
(Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) instrument on the VLT, which generates 3D
views of the universe.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations
from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read
more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Learn more about the Chandra X-ray
Observatory and its mission here:
Visual Description
This release features composite
images shown side-by-side of two different galaxy clusters, each with a central
black hole surrounded by patches and filaments of gas. The galaxy clusters,
known as Perseus and Centaurus, are two of seven galaxy clusters observed as
part of an international study led by the University of Santiago de Chile.
In each image, a patch of purple
with neon pink veins floats in the blackness of space, surrounded by flecks of
light. At the center of each patch is a glowing, bright white dot. The bright
white dots are black holes. The purple patches represent hot X-ray gas, and the
neon pink veins represent filaments of warm gas. According to the model
published in the study, jets from the black holes impact the hot X-ray gas.
This gas cools into warm filaments, with some warm gas flowing back into the
black hole. The return flow of warm gas causes jets to again cool the hot gas,
triggering the cycle once again.
While the images of the two galaxy clusters are broadly similar, there are significant visual differences. In the image of the Perseus Cluster on the left, the surrounding flecks of light are larger and brighter, making the individual galaxies they represent easier to discern. Here, the purple gas has a blue tint, and the hot pink filaments appear solid, as if rendered with quivering strokes of a paintbrush. In the image of the Centaurus Cluster on the right, the purple gas appears softer, with a more diffuse quality. The filaments are rendered in more detail, with feathery edges, and gradation in color ranging from pale pink to neon red.
By: Lee Mohon
Source: Black Holes Can Cook for Themselves, Chandra Study Shows - NASA
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