MADRID, 7 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
For the first time, astronomers have investigated the physical environment of the Repetitive X -ray bursts near huge black holes.
Scientists have only recently detected this type of X -ray eruptions, called QPE (for its acronym in English), or quasiperiódicas eruptions. The galaxy that astronomers have nickname Ansky is just the eighth source of Qpe discovered and produces the most energy bursts observed to date. Ansky also establishes records in terms of time and duration, with rashes every approximately 4.5 days that last approximately 1.5 days.
The Ansky’s name comes from ZTF19acnskyy, the name of an outbreak in visible light observed in 2019. It was located in a galaxy to about 300 million light years away, in the constellation of Virgo. This event was the first indication that something unusual could be happening, reports NASA In a statement.
An outstanding theory suggests that QPE occur in systems where a relatively low mass object crosses the gas disc surrounding a supermassive black hole with a mass of hundreds of thousands to billions of times greater than that of the sun.
When the object of lower dough crosses the disc, its step expels expanding hot gas clouds that we observe as X -rays.
Scientists believe that their quasiperiodicity is due to the fact that the orbit of the smallest object is not perfectly circular and moves spiral towards the black hole over time. In addition, the extreme gravity near the black hole deforms the space-time tissue, altering the orbits of the object so that they do not close on themselves in each cycle. The current knowledge of scientists suggests that eruptions are repeated until the disc disappears or the object into orbit disintegrates, which can take up to several years.
Scientists believe that Ansky’s extreme properties could be due to the nature of the album around its supermassive black hole, which could be much larger and, therefore, involve further objects than the previous examples, creating longer time scales.
Cartographed in detail
Astronomers used data from NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an observatory at the International Space Station, and of the XMM-Newton Space Telescope of ESA to map with an unprecedented detail the rapid evolution of the ejected material promoting the QPE observed. To do this, they studied the variations in the intensity of the X -rays during the rise and descent of each eruption.
The researchers discovered that each impact resulted in a mass equivalent to that of a jupiter, reaching Expansion speeds close to 15 % of the speed of light.
Nicer’s ability to frequently observe Ansky from the space station and its unique measurement capabilities also allowed researchers to measure the size and temperature of the debris bubble, approximately spherical, as it expanded.
