The strange “heartbeat” of black holes forces astronomers to rethink these cosmic heavyweight behaviours.
Observation of IGR J17091-3624 – A black hole in a binary system of approximately 28,000 light-years from Earth – was collected using NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarized Explorer (IXPE). Called a “heartbeat” black hole due to its dramatic and rhythmic pulses of brightness, the object feeds stolen material from the companion star. The pulse of a black hole is the result of fluctuations in the superheated plasma swirling around it (also known as the accretion disk) and variations in the internal region known as corona, reaching extreme temperatures and capable of emitting very bright X-rays.
IXPE measured polarization, the direction of the black hole, to determine the alignment of its vibrations. According to a statement from NASA, the space probe recorded an astonishing degree of polarization of 9.1%.
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Studying polarization potentials provides insight into the geometry of black holes and the movement of nearby matter. Typically, such high measurements suggest that corona is seen almost edge-on, and its structure appears to be highly ordered. However, other observations of IGR J17091-3624 do not appear to match the picture, leaving the scientists with an inexplicable contradiction.
Astronomers have tested two different models to explain recent observations of IGR J17091-3624. We assume that strong winds are being fired from the accretion disks, scattering X-rays in a more biased state. The other suggests that the corona itself is moving outward at an extraordinary speed, causing a relativistic effect of amplifying polarization. Simulations for both scenarios replicate the results of IXPE, but each model challenges long-standing assumptions about the black hole environment.
“These winds are one of the most important missing parts of understanding the growth of all kinds of black holes,” said Maxim Para, a co-author of a study at Matsuyama University in Japan, in a statement. “Astronomers could hope that future observations would bring even more surprising polarimetric measurements.”
Their findings were published in the Royal Astronomical Society’s Monthly Notification Magazine on May 27th.
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