Astronomers have detected mid-infrared light from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy for the first time. and has shed new light on the complex physics that give rise to these powerful explosions.
Flares, which are bursts of energy that change in intensity when the black hole's magnetic field lines interact It fills in a black hole observing region that scientists have previously avoided. However, questions remain about the chaotic environment near the center of this deep object.
The team's flare detection and modeling has been accepted for publication in Astrophysics Journal Letters and is currently available On the arXiv pre-print server, the findings were presented today at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland.
The black hole, called Sagittarius A* (pronounced star A), is an object with a mass about four million times the mass of our sun. and is located at the core of the Milky Way Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects with a gravitational field so strong that no light can escape their confines beyond a point known as the event horizon. Based on the artist's concept at the beginning of this article. Black holes are dark voids at the core of swirling matter.
“For more than 20 years we have known what happens in the radio and near-infrared (NIR) spectrum, but the connection between the two has never been 100% clear,” said Joseph Mikhail, one of the authors. The main body of the report and researchers from the university said the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and the Smithsonian are in the middle. release– “New surveys in the mid-infrared help fill that gap.”
Mid-infrared light has a longer wavelength than visible light. But they have a shorter wavelength than radio waves. It is also one of the specialties of the Webb Space Telescope. which the telescope captured with its mid-infrared instrument (MIRI).
Cooling of electrons in the black hole's accretion disk The superheated, glowing substance surrounding the object releases energy to power the flare. The role of electrons in black hole flares is revealed at mid-infrared wavelengths. And according to Mikhail has offered another piece of evidence about what sparked the blaze.
The team's detection and modeling provide a clearer and more complex picture of the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Modeling the physics of black holes and directly imaging the objects go hand in hand in deepening our understanding of the physics underlying some of the largest and most incredible objects in our universe.
Event Horizon Telescope collaboration takes direct images of black holes first time In April 2019, the collaboration followed up on that success too. First direct picture or Sagittarius A* in May 2022, although last year a group of researchers suggested that was the case. There is a defect.–
last year The collaboration, which includes the telescope, includes a worldwide network of radio telescope observatories. It provides the highest resolution observations ever obtained on this planet. The work states that at a certain wavelength Future images of black holes may be up to 50% sharper than previously published images.
Further observations may be required to determine whether the cooled, high-energy electrons are responsible for the blaze. But this discovery offers a new twist in the black hole story. and demonstrates the role the Webb Space Telescope will play in solving the mystery of this massive object.