- New observations down to light-year scale of the gas flows around a supermassive black hole have successfully detected dense gas inflows and shown that only a small portion (about 3 percent) of the gas flowing towards the black hole is eaten by the black hole. The remainder is ejected and recycled back into the host galaxy. Not all of the matter which falls towards a black hole is absorbed, some of it is ejected as outflows. But the ratio of the matter that the black hole "eats," and the amount "dropped" has been difficult to measure. An international research team led by Takuma Izumi, an assistant professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the supermassive black hole in the Circinus Galaxy, located 14 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Circinus. This black hole is known to be actively feeding. Thanks to ALMA's high resolution, the team was the first in the world to measure the amount of inflow and outflow down to a scale of a few light-years around the black hole. By measuring the flows of gasses in different states (molecular, atomic, and plasma) the team was able to determine the overall efficiency of black hole feeding, and found that it was only about 3 precent. The team also confirmed that gravitational instability is driving the inflow. Analysis also showed that the bulk of the expelled outflows are not fast enough to escape the galaxy and be lost. They are recycled back into the circumnuclear regions around the black hole, and start to slowly fall towards the black hole again. Research Report:Supermassive black hole feeding and feedback observed on sub-parsec scales
Not all of the matter which falls towards a black hole is absorbed, some of it is ejected as outflows. But the ratio of the matter that the black hole "eats," and the amount "dropped" has been difficult to measure.
An international research team led by Takuma Izumi, an assistant professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the supermassive black hole in the Circinus Galaxy, located 14 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Circinus. This black hole is known to be actively feeding.
Thanks to ALMA's high resolution, the team was the first in the world to measure the amount of inflow and outflow down to a scale of a few light-years around the black hole. By measuring the flows of gasses in different states (molecular, atomic, and plasma) the team was able to determine the overall efficiency of black hole feeding, and found that it was only about 3 precent.
The team also confirmed that gravitational instability is driving the inflow. Analysis also showed that the bulk of the expelled outflows are not fast enough to escape the galaxy and be lost. They are recycled back into the circumnuclear regions around the black hole, and start to slowly fall towards the black hole again.
Research Report:Supermassive black hole feeding and feedback observed on sub-parsec scales
研究チームが見つけたのは、黒い穴は、それが食べる前に投げ出された物質のほんの少数(3%)しか摂取していないということでした。
残りは、近くの銀河に再循環されました。
短期的な影響としては、この発見は、アルマやその他の高解像度観測装置が研究に活用できることを示しています。
長期的な影響としては、この発見は、黒い穴の効率的な食事行動が、銀河の中心部の環境を安定させることを示しています。
さらに、黒い穴がその銀河の中心部の物質を再循環しており、宇宙物理学で安定した状態を維持するためのプロセスを実行していることを示しています。
政治面では、研究チームが行ったことは、科学的な努力を可能にしていることを示しています。
文化的な文脈では、この発見は、スター・トレックのテレビ番組や映画と非常によく似ています。
これらの観測は、宇宙物理学の研究と理解を深めるための重要な一歩であると考えられます。
この研究から抽出された推論と意味合いの簡潔な要約は、高解像度の観測装置を使用することで、黒い穴の効率的な食事行動が確認され、黒い穴は、それが食べる前に投げ出された物質のほんの少数(3%)しか摂取していないことがわかったということです。
研究チームの発見は、宇宙物理学で安定した状態を維持するためのプロセスを実行していることを示しています。
さらに、この発見は、科学的な努力を可能にしていることを示しています。
調査質問としては、他の銀河でも黒い穴が同様の効率で物質を食べるのか、また、黒い穴が投げ出した物質が銀河の中心部で再循環される仕組みをどのように理解できるかなどがあります。
潜在的な未来の結果としては、他の銀河でも類似の結果が得られ、宇宙物理学の研究がさらに深まる可能性があります。