Observations of the trio demonstrate that swirling jets can help astronomers find hidden black hole pairs. The finding also suggests that these pairs may be more common than previously thought.
Every large galaxy appears to harbor a central supermassive black hole, a pileup of the corpses of huge stars. These black holes, which can weigh well over a billion suns, appear to build up over time from collisions between galaxies. As two galaxies merge, their central black holes find one another, spiral together and eventually combine into one giant black hole.
Roger Deane, an astrophysicist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and colleagues stumbled upon the black hole trio while studying galaxies that emit a lot of radio light. The researchers knew of a galaxy that holds two black holes, which were first discovered three years ago and are separated by about 24,000 light-years. What Deane’s team figured out is that one of those black holes is actually two black holes, crowded together at just 450 light-years apart, according to the team, reports Nature.
Researchers think that compact binary supermassive black holes may be strong sources of gravitational waves. As they orbit each other, the black holes radiate gravitational energy, which should send out ripples in the fabric of space. In principle, these gravitational waves may be detectable by instruments on Earth, like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, but physicists have not directly detected the waves. A direct observation of gravitational waves would confirm a prediction of Einstein’s theory of general relativity and also provide a way to explore the many phenomena that emit almost no light. A collection of compact black hole pairs could help researchers know where to look.
To find out more about how Deane's team distinguished between the two close-together black holes, click here.
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