Why do black holes spew particles into space? Scientists say shock waves may explain mystery
- After escaping black holes, particles accelerate to nearly the speed of light and shine as bright as 100 billion suns, according to paper
- International team behind discovery includes researchers from mainland China and Hong Kong
Black holes are known for their ability to pull things into them, but why they shoot out jets of shining particles has long baffled scientists.
The team, which includes researchers from the United States, Italy, mainland China and Hong Kong, proposed that particles escape black holes at very high speeds, then run into surrounding materials and slow down, resulting in a shock wave that spreads outward along the jet.
“The study offered the first observational evidence for how exactly the particles are boosted to very high energies soon after leaving their source. This process happens within a small area and is usually difficult to observe,” said Gou Lijun, an astrophysicist with the National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing who was not involved in the research.
Supermassive black holes, which are millions to billions of times more massive than the sun, are among the most enigmatic objects in the universe.
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‘Supermassive’ black hole at the centre of our galaxy viewed for the first time