The Chandra X-ray Observatory at NASA has found two pairs of supermassive black holes on collision trajectories in dwarf galaxies. This is the first indication of such an imminent collision. This discovery gives critical information regarding the genesis of the first black holes in the cosmos.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory assisted in the identification of two pairs of dwarf galaxies destined to combine.
Dwarf galaxies, which are at least 20 times less massive than the Milky Way, presumably collided in the early universe to generate bigger galaxies.
These recently found merging dwarf galaxies can serve as analogs for fainter, more distant galaxies.
The dwarf galaxies are located in the galaxy clusters Abell 133 and Abell 1758S, where they are on collision trajectories.
Chandra has discovered evidence for two pairs of supermassive black holes in dwarf galaxies on collision trajectories. X-rays from Chandra and optical light from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope depict the two couples. The left-hand merger is in its final stages and has been given the single name Mirabilis. Two dwarf galaxies termed Elstir (bottom) and Vinteuil are in the first phases of a second merger, which is in its infancy (top). Scientists believe dwarf galaxies, which are around 20 times less massive than the Milky Way, develop through mergers. This is a crucial step for galaxy formation in the early universe, and this discovery gives scientists with instances to investigate further. Optical: International Gemini .
Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a new research has monitored two pairs of supermassive black holes on collision trajectories in dwarf galaxies. This is the first evidence for such an imminent collision, presenting scientists with crucial knowledge about the evolution of black holes in the early Universe.
Dwarf galaxies include stars with a total mass of fewer than 3 billion Suns, or around 20 times less than the Milky Way. Scientists have long hypothesized that dwarf galaxies combine to form the bigger galaxies observed today, particularly in the very early Universe. Unfortunately, existing technology is incapable of observing the first generation of dwarf galaxy mergers due to their extreme faintness at enormous distances. Another strategy, searching for nearby dwarf galaxy mergers, had not proved fruitful to date.
By executing a systematic examination of deep Chandra X-ray observations and combining them with infrared data from NASA’s Wide Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and optical data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the new study overcame these obstacles (CFHT).
Chandra was especially useful for this research because the material surrounding black holes may be burned to millions of degrees, generating massive quantities of X-rays. The scientists uncovered two examples of pairs of strong X-ray sources in dwarf galaxies merging as evidence of two black holes.
One pair is located 760 million light-years from Earth in the galaxy cluster Abell 133, as shown in the picture on the left. Chandra X-ray data appears in pink, whereas CFHT optical data appears in blue. This pair of dwarf galaxies appears to be in the last stages of a merger, as seen by the lengthy tail created by the collision’s tidal effects. The authors of the new study have dubbed it “Mirabilis” after an endangered hummingbird species whose tails are notably long. Because the merging of two galaxies into one is virtually complete, just one name was selected. The two Chandra sources reveal X-rays emanating from the material around each galaxy’s black holes.
The other pair was identified in the galaxy cluster Abell 1758S, located around 3.2 billion light-years distant. On the right is a composite image from Chandra and CFHT using the same color palette as for Mirabilis. The scientists dubbed the merging dwarf galaxies “Elstir” and “Vinteuil” after imaginary characters from Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time.” Vinteuil is the upper galaxy, whereas Elstir is the lower galaxy. Both have Chandra sources connected with them, again X-rays from material surrounding each galaxy’s black holes. The researchers believe that these two galaxies are in the early stages of a merger, with a bridge of stars and gas resulting from their gravitational contact.