Hundreds of black holes were discovered where there was no black hole

Based on computer simulations, scientists discovered that the globular cluster area NGC 6101 contained hundreds of black holes. This is the place where we previously thought there was no black hole.

A new University of Surrey study published in the monthly journal of the Royal Astronomical Society shows that the cluster area of NGC 6101 now contains hundreds of black holes that we never knew before. up to now. This study allows astrophysicists to map black holes in other star clusters.

The globular cluster is a collection of stars that are close together and form a spherical structure, orbiting around the center of the Milky Way. Using computer simulations, the team at the University of Surrey has discovered invisible black holes in the cluster of NGC 6101.

These black holes are several times larger than the Sun, formed from the collapse of big stars. Previous knowledge suggests that black holes will leave the star cluster due to the supernova explosion when the star dies.

Star Cluster NGC 6101 taken by Hubble Space Telescope.(Photo: NASA).

"Because of the nature of absorbing everything, including light, black holes cannot be observed through conventional telescopes because light photons cannot escape from the black hole and propagate to the human eye. To find them, we have to study the effect caused by the gravity around them, using the results of actual observations and computer simulations, we find differences around places that are not visible by telescopes. Usually, the word deduces the existing black holes, " explained the study's lead author, Professor Miklos Peuten from the University of Surrey.

Astrophysicists found black holes in the star cluster in 2013, when an unknown unknown phenomenon occurred around a star belonging to a cluster. Since then, with the support of the European Research Council (ERC), the team has shown hundreds of black holes in the cluster of NGC 6101, overturning the basic theories of black hole formation.

The co-author of the study, Professor Mark Gieles of the University of Surrey, said: "Our job is to answer questions regarding the characteristics of black holes and stars, as well as observations about Gravitational waves produce gravitational waves when two black holes collide and merge, and we discover them from the core of star clusters, where black hole mergers occur regularly. "

Star cluster NGC 6101 has a relatively young average age compared to individual stars in the cluster.

Researchers have chosen this cluster to map based on the recent special discovery, which is quite a special cluster compared to other star clusters. Star cluster NGC 6101 has a relatively young average age compared to individual stars in the cluster, these stars are quite old. This cluster is also quite big because the star members are far away and quite sparse.

Using computer simulations, the researchers modeled stars and black holes in the cluster NGC 6101. They simulated the entire 13 billion year period showing the formation and development of the cluster, the The impact of black holes on stars. Since then, they have answered questions about the anomalies in stars, now we know that this anomaly is caused by black holes.

"This research is quite interesting, it gives us an overview of all the black holes in the cluster based on computer simulations. The cluster of NGC 6101 is a pretty boring observation object, but now it is "As a result of this study, we will find black holes in other star clusters in the universe," Peuten concludes.