A longstanding astronomical gap between neutron stars and black holes is finally coming to a close
This low-mass collapsar is smack-dab on the “mind the gap” borderline. How can we tell whether it’s a neutron star or a black hole?The various types of events that LIGO is known to be sensitive to all take the form of two massesinspiraling and merging with one another. We know that black holes above 5 solar masses are common, as are neutron stars below about 2 solar masses. The in-between range is known as the mass gap, a puzzle for astronomers to solve.
We also know that only a fraction of the black holes out there are active at any given time; most of them are probably quiet. Even after LIGO turned on, revealing black holes merging with other black holes, one puzzling fact remained: the lowest-mass black hole we had ever discovered have all had masses that were at least five times the mass of our Sun. There were no black holes with three or four solar masses worth of material.
Helium . Note that the first stars occupy the bottom row of the chart, being metal-free, and that the black areas correspond to direct collapse black holes. For modern stars, we are uncertain as to whether the supernovae that create neutron stars are fundamentally the same or different than the ones that create black holes, and whether there is a 'mass gap' present between them in nature.
But perhaps most remarkably, from the gravitational waves that arrived, we were able to extract an enormous amount of information about the merger process. Two neutron stars merged to form an object that, it appears, initially formed as a neutron star before, fractions of a second later, collapsing to form a black hole. For the first time, we'd found an object in the mass gap range, and it was, indeed, a black hole....
take a large census of supernovae and supernova remnants and measure the mass distribution of the central neutron stars/black holes produced, with an 83 day period. The companion emits no radiation of any type, not even X-rays, suggesting a black hole nature.We can't be absolutely certain this object isn't a neutron star, but the super strong magnetic fields of even quiet neutron stars should lead to X-ray emissions. Even given the uncertainties, which could admit a mass as low as about 2.6 solar masses , this object is strongly indicated to be a black hole.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
Hilary Duff Teases Ethan Craft and Lizzie McGuire Might Have \u2018Thing\u2019 In RebootHilary Duff Teases Ethan Craft And Lizzie McGuire Might Have ‘Thing’ In Reboot
続きを読む »
If You Need Something Done on Thanksgiving, Ask My GrandfatherFrom trimming brussels sprouts to washing dishes, no task is too thankless for my family’s ultimate doer.
続きを読む »
House Republicans for ask Hunter Biden and whistleblower to testify in impeachment probeIn a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Republicans listed the anonymous whistleblower as a witness they'd like to testify as part of the chamber's impeachment inquiry into President Trump and Ukraine
続きを読む »
Veterans 'uncomfortable' with 'thank you for your service,' ask for more civilian support this Veterans Day49 percent of active and former members of the armed services feel uneasy with the expression 'Thank you for your service.'
続きを読む »
Indian WhatsApp users ask government to explain ties with Israeli firm in privacy breach caseA group of Indians including journalists and lawyers whose phones were hacked vi...
続きを読む »
House Republicans ask for Hunter Biden and whistleblower to testify in impeachment probeIn a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Republicans listed the anonymous whistleblower as a witness they'd like to testify as part of the chamber's impeachment inquiry into President Trump and Ukraine
続きを読む »