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An artist’s impression of two colliding black holes. | Credit: Aurore Simonnet SSU/EdEon/LVK/URI
The researchers found two fusion pairs black holesand they believe that the larger one in each merger is a rare “second-generation” veteran of the previous collision.
The unusual behavior of the two supermassive black holes observed through waves in spacetime, called gravitational waves, was described on October 28. Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The impression was twofold: during each merger, the larger black hole was spinning rapidly and was significantly more massive than the partner black hole it swallowed. The events were observed using the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, a worldwide array of gravitational wave detectors designed to monitor space-shaking events such as black hole mergers and neutron star collisions.
The results “provide tantalizing evidence that these black holes were formed by previous black hole mergers,” the study’s co-author said. Stephen FairhurstA professor at Cardiff University in the UK and a spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration said statement.
Interconnections
The study was based on two recently discovered mergers that happened just a month apart. Analysis of the gravitational wave signatures of these events allowed researchers to infer the masses, spins and distances of the black holes involved.
In the first event, in 2024 On October 11, scientists observed two black holes, six and 20 times the mass of the Sun, respectively, colliding in the merger of GW241011, about 700 million light-years from Earth. There was a bigger black hole one of the fastest spinning black holes ever found.
A second merger, GW241110, was found in 2024. November 10 with black holes that were between eight and 17 times the mass of the sun. This merger was further 2.4 billion. light years. The larger black hole is also rotating in front of its orbit, which has never been seen before.
The scientists say that each of these mergers had new properties, including that the larger black hole in each merger was nearly twice as large as the smaller one, and that the larger black holes rotated strangely compared to hundreds of other mergers observed through gravitational waves since historic first LIGO detection (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) 2015
The scientists proposed that the larger black hole in each merger had previously merged in a process known as “hierarchical mergers,” which would occur in dense environments such as star clusters, where black holes would often approach each other.
“This is one of our most interesting discoveries to date,” the co-author of the study Jess McIveran astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia, said in a statement. “These events are strong evidence that there are very dense, mobile pockets of the universe that bind together some dead stars.
RELATED STORIES
-Scientists have detected the largest black hole merger ever – and gave birth to a monster 225 times more massive than the sun
-Scientists believe they discovered the first known triple black hole system in the universe, then watched it die
-Stephen Hawking’s long-debated black hole theory finally confirmed – after scientists hear 2 event horizons merge into one
In addition to possible findings of second-generation black holes, scientists said these two mergers have been confirmed The laws of physics predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago and that these events are helping scientists learn more about elementary particles.
For example, GW241011 produced a clear signal that allowed scientists to see how the larger black hole deforms as it spins due to the black hole’s rapid rotation. The resulting signature in gravitational waves was consistent with Einstein’s theories, also from mathematician Roy Kerrdue to spinning black holes.
The same event also generated a signal of gravitational waves created by the fact that the larger black hole was much larger than the smaller one. (The collaborators suggested that the hum was similar to the overtones of musical instruments.) This observation also helped confirm Einstein’s predictions.
The researchers found two fusion pairs black holesand they believe that the larger one in each merger is a rare “second-generation” veteran of the previous collision.
The unusual behavior of the two supermassive black holes observed through waves in spacetime, called gravitational waves, was described on October 28. Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The impression was twofold: during each merger, the larger black hole was spinning rapidly and was significantly more massive than the partner black hole it swallowed. The events were observed using the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, a worldwide array of gravitational wave detectors designed to monitor space-shaking events such as black hole mergers and neutron star collisions.
The results “provide tantalizing evidence that these black holes were formed by previous black hole mergers,” the study’s co-author said. Stephen FairhurstA professor at Cardiff University in the UK and a spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration said statement.
Interconnections
The study was based on two recently discovered mergers that happened just a month apart. Analysis of the gravitational wave signatures of these events allowed researchers to infer the masses, spins and distances of the black holes involved.
In the first event, in 2024 On October 11, scientists observed two black holes, six and 20 times the mass of the Sun, respectively, colliding in the merger of GW241011, about 700 million light-years from Earth. There was a bigger black hole one of the fastest spinning black holes ever found.
A second merger, GW241110, was found in 2024. November 10 with black holes that were between eight and 17 times the mass of the sun. This merger was further 2.4 billion. light years. The larger black hole is also rotating in front of its orbit, which has never been seen before.
The scientists say that each of these mergers had new properties, including that the larger black hole in each merger was nearly twice as large as the smaller one, and that the larger black holes rotated strangely compared to hundreds of other mergers observed through gravitational waves since historic first LIGO detection (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) 2015
The scientists proposed that the larger black hole in each merger had previously merged in a process known as “hierarchical mergers,” which would occur in dense environments such as star clusters, where black holes would often approach each other.
“This is one of our most interesting discoveries to date,” the co-author of the study Jess McIveran astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia, said in a statement. “These events are strong evidence that there are very dense, mobile pockets of the universe that bind together some dead stars.”
RELATED STORIES
-Scientists have detected the largest black hole merger ever – and gave birth to a monster 225 times more massive than the sun
-Scientists believe they discovered the first known triple black hole system in the universe, then watched it die
-Stephen Hawking’s long-debated black hole theory finally confirmed – after scientists hear 2 event horizons merge into one
In addition to possible findings of second-generation black holes, scientists said these two mergers have been confirmed The laws of physics predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago and that these events are helping scientists learn more about elementary particles.
For example, GW241011 produced a clear signal that allowed scientists to see how the larger black hole deforms as it spins due to the black hole’s rapid rotation. The resulting signature in gravitational waves was consistent with Einstein’s theories, also from mathematician Roy Kerrdue to spinning black holes.
The same event also generated a signal of gravitational waves created by the fact that the larger black hole was much larger than the smaller one. (The collaborators suggested that the hum was similar to the overtones of musical instruments.) This observation also helped confirm Einstein’s predictions.