Scientists spot intermediate-mass black hole lurking at centre of Milky Way star cluster
Representational image of black holes.
Scientists have been stunned to discover another intermediate-mass black hole at the centre of a star cluster in the Milky Way, which is close to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (SgrA*).
TheUniversity of Cologne's research team headed by Dr Florian Peißker made the unusual discovery of another intermediate-mass black hole at the centre of the galaxy.
The intermediate-mass black holes are considered one of the most puzzling mysteries in the universe.
Even after researching them at a great length, scientists have only been able to discover a handful of them to date.
As per the scientific consensus, such celestial anomalies were formed after the Big Bang and played a major role as "seeds" in the growth and formation of the supermassive black holes.
Dr. Peißker and his team have been observing a cluster of stars called IRS 13. This cluster is very close to a supermassive black hole which is called the Sagittarius A* (SgrA*).
The star cluster is 0.1 light years away from Sagittarius A* which in astronomical terms is a short distance.
The scientist also observed that the stars are moving in an unexpected manner in IRS 13 which suggeststhat either the star cluster is interacting with the black hole which is affecting the motion of the stars or something is present inside the cluster which is helping it to remain in compact shape.
Mysterious black hole at the centre of the cluster
The scientists made multi-wavelength observations with the help of the Chandra, ALMA and found the mysterious black hole at the centre of the star cluster.
They alsofound that IRS 13 was able to maintain a compact shape because an intermediate-mass black hole was present at its centre.
Other observations like characteristic X-rays and ionised gas which are rotating at breakneck speeds also supported the theory thatan intermediate-mass black hole waspresent there.
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The star cluster also had an unusually high density which was said to behigher than any known density of a star cluster present in our Milky Way.
“IRS 13 appears to be an essential building block for the growth of our central black hole SgrA*,” Dr. Peißker said.
This discovery also explains how these intermediate-mass black holes have been their supermassive counterparts' building blocks.
(With inputs from agencies)