A catastrophe between black holes disrupts our understanding of the billiard universe

Black holes are among the most attractive objects in the universe; Basic physicists believe that there are still many elements hidden that are essential to our overall understanding of the universe. After all, our knowledge of these products is still limited.

But in recent years significant progress has been made with the advent of a revolutionary tool: the laser interferometer gravitational wave laboratory, or LIGOIt joined the Astronomers’ Arsenal in 2002. This machine is entirely dedicated to research Gravitational waves. In theory, these are space-time oscillations predicted by Einstein’s general relativity; In practice, for astronomers, this is the most violent and powerful event of all time, an indication that light years may have occurred from Earth.

In 2015, LIGO distinguished itself Exciting discovery : Who first discovered these gravitational waves after the fusion of a pair of black holes. A small revolution in astronomy, but it raised as many questions as it provided answers.

The most mysterious first contact

Although this field of research continues to progress, there are still central questions that we still do not know how to answer with complete certainty. We have not yet been able to determine exactly under what circumstances they formed. Therefore, researchers are constantly monitoring gravitational waves in hopes of finding missing parts of the puzzle.

It is in this context that in 2019, LIGO and its Italian counterpart, The The sign of Virgo, Points of gravitational waves of extraordinary intensity. Event, dub GW190521Explained by astronomers as a new combination of massive black holes, the mass in this context is theoretically greater than the physical limit.

This last element was, at the very least, skeptical to researchers. But then they made an interesting discovery: the phenomenon produced a visible light, which is quite surprising in this context. So astronomers continued to study GW190521, and they concluded a fascinating third discovery.

The matter of geometry

Usually, when two black holes merge, they share a relatively similar orbit. Round (In their barn). This form is importantBecause it is directly connected to the gravitational forces at play. The two black holes gradually rotate around each other until exceptional collision and gradually approach the center of this common orbit.

But in the case of these works, they occupy very long orbits; Talking aboutElliptical orbit. A point that appears Simply incompatible with current models In this case. Undoubtedly not possible: Undoubtedly there is an eel under the rock, and this may be a much more complex phenomenon than the researchers imagined.

So in the hope of pulling the worms out of GW190521, the observations were restarted with an updated dose. Very quickly, a new proof was imposed on astronomers: that is the correct explanationThe third celestial body has actually come to play obstacles in moving around in circles. A real jackpot, All scenes, including those seen from 2019, have proven to fit this scenario.

A “chaotic tango” between cosmic monsters

In fact, given the enormous size of the masses involved, the researchers believe that the scene took place very close to the center of a galaxy. These are places that are usually dominated by black holes of the Donetsk ratio, millions of times heavier than our Sun; We are talking about a huge black hole.

These create an enormous force of gravity that only allows The structure of the entire galaxy; Once captured the gas disk around the vast black hole, even ordinary black holes cannot tell.

“In these environments, the density and velocity of the black holes are so high that the smallest bounce in all directions, like the game of billiards.”Explains Benz Cossis, co-author of the study at Oxford University.

“They meet there, form pairs, and these pairs can still interact with the third black hole, which leads to one Confused tango Many black holes go in all directions”, Hiromichi Takawa, Associate Professor at the University of Doha.

A step forward in our understanding of the universe

So we find ourselves in a system with more than two black holes, which represents a completely different challenge. In fact, this “N-body problem” is one of the oldest problems in basic physics. Because in such a system, different objects operate according to a so-called model “Confused“(See The Confusion theory And explanatory video above). In a nutshell it means that it is more or less impossible to accurately predict their behavior; This will require infinite accuracy, which is impossible.

So we can say that fascinating physics-mathematical puzzles are waiting for researchers in turn. “That is something that Newton, myself and many others have read very seriously.”, Explains Nathan W. Lee, another co-author of the study. “The fact that this problem plays a key role in the connections that take place on the disk of the largest black hole is incredibly attractive.”, He exclaims.

From now on, it will be a challenge to learn more about the popular disks of very large black holes. So the aim is to detect new extraordinary events like GW190521. They can learn more about the dynamics of black holes, especially supernatural ones. By extension, it will enhance our overall understanding of the dynamics of the universe and galaxies. All of this thanks to a huge catastrophic pool game that will be played millions of light years from Earth!

The text of the study is available Here.