Supermassive black holes are choking their galaxies. The more they ate, the worse it got

When a supermassive black hole is surrounded by a large amount of matter, it is not able to absorb all this matter at once, so part of it moves along the magnetic field lines of the black hole towards its poles, where it is released into galaxies. A distance close to the speed of light. By nature, a stream of this type of matter rushing through interstellar space affects its immediate surroundings, and thus the shape of the galaxy from which it originates. After all, the relativistic jet rushing through interstellar space introduces strong perturbations into the structure of clouds of dust and gas and, by the way, drags some of this matter with it out of the galaxy.

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Scientists recently decided to take a closer look at such jets emanating from the vicinity of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Grail galaxy.

It should be noted here the various consequences of such activity. If the jet material heats its surroundings, it heats dust clouds that, when formed from dust and cold gas, could be the material for new stars. From the cloud of stars heated in this way, there will be no more. The effect is that a very strong relativistic jet can stop star formation in the host galaxy and cause the galaxy to age. The stars that already exist will slowly die away and not be replaced by the stars of future generations.

Recent simulations indicate that the faint jets, which are not visible in the radio spectrum, are not at all safe for a potential galaxy. In a scientific article by Christina Raus-Almeida of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, we can read that seemingly silent jets can actively disturb the gas dynamics of the galaxy, greatly affecting its evolution.

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A good example of these interactions is what happens in the galactic cup.

The Teacup Galaxy, also known as the Teacup AGN (AGN, active galactic nucleus) or SDSS catalog number J1430+13139, is a very distinctive quasar with a very unusual structure. A kind of ring of ionized gas sticks out of the galaxy, which when squinted resembles the handle of a cup.

Observations made with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) radio interferometer on the Chajnantor Plateau in Chile about 5,000 meters above sea level indicate that this galaxy, 1.3 billion light-years away, is also experiencing severe perturbations caused by jets of Matter ejected from the poles of supermassive black holes. These jets also heat interstellar material and cause gas molecules in the galaxy to speed up. The effect is that from this heated gas … there would be no stars either.

Interestingly, the flux emanating from the galactic center had the greatest impact on the galaxy not at the head of the plane but in the direction perpendicular to it. Scientists suggest that it is not the plane itself that “moves” in the galaxy, but the shock wave generated around the plane. It is she who compresses and heats the gas in the environment. in case

“This is due to tremors caused by a jet-driven bubble that heats up and explodes the gas,” said study lead author and IAC astronomer Anelise Audibert in a press release (opens in a new tab). It turns out that even low-powered planes have an impact — it just depends on where you’re headed.