ON jellyfish galaxy it is an exotic type of doomed and interrupted galaxy that is usually seen within clusters, which are immense structures that harbor hundreds to thousands of bright galactic constituents. Of course, jellyfish They have been detected inhabiting several galaxy clusters, and they are spectacular objects that undergo a dramatic sea change as they hurtle through the dense core of their host cluster at supersonic speeds, displaying brilliant starbursts along a glowing tail of gas. . In July 2019, a team of astronomers announced that they had observed firsthand the sinister role that an excited super massive black hole was playing in the “murder” of an exotic jellyfish galaxy. The supermassive heart of darkness, lurking in the center of the jellyfish nicknamed JO201, is ripping off gas and blasting it into space. In doing so, the black hole is accelerating the tragic extinction of the birth of baby stars. This means that the black hole is in the process of “murdering” the exotic doomed galaxy.
Galaxy clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. In fact, galaxy clusters were believed to be the largest known structures in the Universe until the 1980s, when galaxies superclusters were discovered for the first time. One of the most important attributes of galaxy clusters is the intracluster medium (ICM)which is composed of heated gas that floats in the space between galaxies (intergalactic space). Tea ICM it generally has maximum temperatures between 2 and 15 Kelvin, and these temperatures depend on the total mass of the cluster. The smallest collections of galaxies are usually called groups, instead of clusters. Galaxy groups and clusters can come together to create superclusters.
It is commonly thought that most, if not all, large galaxies have a voracious super massive black hole in their hearts. These gravity monsters can weigh millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, and their collections of jellyfish galaxies are characterized by ram pressure removing gas from the galaxy victimized by the ICM. ram pressure is exerted on a body traveling through a fluid medium, caused by relative volumetric motion of the fluid rather than random thermal motion. It causes a drag force to be exerted on the body.
Ravenous supermassive black holes feed on jellyfish
In 2017, the observations of jellyfish galaxies with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) revealed a previously unknown way in which supermassive black holes eat dinner. The mechanism that forms the characteristic tentacles of gas and newborn stars (protostars) that inspired astronomers to give jellyfish galaxies its nickname, also makes it possible for gas to reach the central regions of galaxies. In this central region, where the hungry black hole lurks in sinister secret, the falling feast glows brightly as it hurtles to its doom.
An Italian-led team of astronomers used the MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Scanner) instrument in the VLT did ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile to study how gas can be stripped from galaxies. Scientists focused on extreme examples of exotic jellyfish galaxies inhabiting nearby galaxy clusters, whose “tentacles” of material extend tens of thousands of light-years beyond their galactic disks.
The “tentacles” of jellyfish are formed in galaxies by ram pressure peel. Their mutual gravitational pull causes galaxies to plummet at high speed into clusters, where they then encounter dense, scorching gas. This gas acts like a fierce wind that blows tails of gas out of the galaxy’s disk. This powerful wind also triggers starbursts within it.
Seven jellyfish galaxies were observed for this study, and six of them were found to harbor a super massive black hole in their hearts, feeding ravenously on the surrounding gas. This fraction is surprisingly high, because among galaxies in general the fraction is less than one in ten.
“The strong link between ram pressure removal and active black holes was not predicted and has never been reported before. It appears that the central black hole is being fed because some of the gas, rather than being removed, reaches the center of the galaxy,” he explained. team leader Dr. Bianca Poggianti on a August 16, 2017 ESO press release. Dr. Poggianti is from INAF-Padua Astronomical Observatory in Italy.
A long-standing mystery is why only a small percentage of the supermassive black holes lurking in the centers of galaxies are active. Since these gravitational beasts inhabit almost all galaxies, why do only a few accumulate matter and shine brightly? The result of this 2017 study is important because it reveals a previously unknown mechanism that powers a central black hole.
“Thesis MUSE The observations suggest a novel mechanism for gas to funnel into the neighborhood of the black hole. This result is important because it provides a new piece in the puzzle of poorly understood connections between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies,” commented Dr. Yara Jaffe on August 16, 2017. ESO press release. Dr. Jaffee is a THAT colleague who contributed to the document.
These observations are part of a much larger investigation of many more jellyfish galaxies which is currently in progress.
“This survey, once completed, will reveal how many and which gas-rich galaxies entering clusters go through a period of increased activity in their cores. A long-standing puzzle in astronomy has been understanding how galaxies form and change in our expanding and evolving Universe. jellyfish galaxies they are a key to understanding the evolution of galaxies, as they are galaxies caught in the middle of a dramatic transformation,” added Dr. Poggianti.
The tragic death of jellyfish JO201
The tragic fate of jellyfish galaxy JO201 was revealed as part of the study aimed at 114 jellyfish galaxies for him Panting (GAs peeling phenomena) collaboration, an international team of astronomers led by Dr. Poggianti.
To explore the structure of jellyfish galaxies in 3D and calculating the timescales of their transformation, Dr. Callum Bellhouse of the University of Birmingham in the UK created interactive models that can also be experienced in virtual reality. Dr. Bellhouse presented the new findings at the National Astronomy Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) held in Lancaster, United Kingdom, on July 3, 2019.
According to the new findings, JO201 it was originally a spiral galaxy like our starlit, pinwheel-shaped Milky Way. However, the ill-fated JO201 has been diving through the massive galaxy cluster called Abel 85 at supersonic speeds for about a billion years. how is he doomed jellyfish glides along line of sight, its tentacles appearing foreshortened on the model. However, the team of astronomers estimates that the tentacles are actually 94 parsecs behind. JO201–which is about three times the diameter of our great Galaxy.
“A galaxy supports itself by constantly forming new stars from gas, so understanding how gas moves in and out of a galaxy helps us learn how it evolves. The example of JO201 shows how the scales tip towards star formation as it plunges into the galaxy cluster and faces increasingly extreme extraction of its gas,” Dr. Bellhouse explained in a statement dated July 3, 2019. . RAS press release.
JO201 the sea changes from a spiral to a jellyfish galaxy caused a short-lived increase in the birth of baby stars, as a result of the ram pressure removal process. Clouds of compressed gas collapsed and then created a ring of stars in the galaxy’s disk. Inside the tentacles, dense droplets of gas condensed like rain clouds on Earth. This triggered the formation of bright new baby stars in the galaxy’s wake.
Unfortunately, over the last few hundred million years, the voracious and active supermassive black hole appears to have gouged out the gas, thus leaving a large void around the center of the galaxy’s disk. The team of astronomers proposes that the ram pressure removal it may have forced the gas into the central regions of the galaxy, where it caused the black hole to eject material. This triggered a shock wave that left behind a gossiping cavity.
“There is an important balancing act between the processes that increase or decrease the rate of star formation in jellyfish galaxies. In the case of JO201the central black hole is excited by ram pressure removal and start pouring gasoline. This means that the galaxy is being hollowed out from the inside as well as ripped from the outside,” explained Dr. Bellhouse on July 3, 2019. RAS press release.
“JO201 is, so far, a unique example of a supermassive black hole and ram pressure removal in quenching star formation in a jellyfish galaxy. Studying these curious objects gives us insight into the complex processes galaxies undergo,” added Dr Bellhouse.