'Cooling cycles': NASA's Chandra X-ray Telescope discovers black holes cooking their own food

Produced by Tarun Mishra

Galaxy Clusters

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, in collaboration with the Very Large Telescope (VLT), conducted a study of several galaxy clusters, including the well-known Perseus and Centaurus clusters. These clusters contain supermassive black holes, which play a critical role in regulating the gas around them.

Supermassive Black Holes

Supermassive black holes, millions to billions of times heavier than the Sun, generate emissions that directly impact the cooling of the hot gas in galaxy clusters. This cooling process helps form warm gas filaments, which are drawn towards the black holes, contributing to their growth.

Data

Astronomers combined high-resolution data from Chandra and optical data from the VLT to gain a clearer understanding of how black holes interact with their surrounding environment. Chandra’s X-ray images revealed hot gas, while VLT’s optical data highlighted cooler regions of gas.

Cooling Cycles

The study highlights the role of black hole jets in initiating cooling cycles within galaxy clusters. As the hot gas cools, it forms filaments that flow towards the black holes. This ongoing cycle of cooling and feeding contributes to the growth of the black holes and the evolution of the cluster.

Jellyfish Galaxy Tails

A surprising discovery from the research showed that the filaments around black holes resembled the tails of jellyfish galaxies. These galaxies expel gas as they move through their environments, creating a tail-like structure. This similarity suggests a potential universal process affecting gas dynamics across different galaxy types.

Advanced Technology

The study, led by Valeria Olivares from the University of Santiago in Chile, utilised the MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) instrument on the VLT to create 3D images of the galaxy clusters. This advanced technology allowed scientists to gain detailed views of the interaction between black holes and the surrounding gas.

Galactic Evolution

The research has provided new insights into how black holes sustain their growth by driving gas cooling and filament formation. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the role black holes play in the evolution of galaxies and their broader impact on the universe.