Positive Feedback Black Hole
Credit X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF/R. Gilli et al.; Radio NRAO/VLA; Optical: NASA/STScI
This image contains a black hole that is triggering star formation across the longest distance ever seen, as described in our latest press release. The black hole is located in the center of a galaxy — identified in a labeled image — about 9.9 billion light years from Earth. In this composite image, X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (red) have been combined with radio emission
detected by the NSF's Karl Jansky Very Large Array, or VLA, (blue), and
an optical image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (yellow).
As hot gas swirls around the black hole, it emits large amounts of
X-rays that Chandra detects. The black hole is also the source of
radio-wave emission from a jet of high-energy particles — previously
detected by scientists with the VLA — that stretches about a million
light years. The jet is also identified in the labeled image.
The end of the jet is highlighted by diffuse radio emission caused by
the particles slowing down after interacting with surrounding matter. A
bright source of radio emission (blue and white) on the opposite side of
the black hole marks the end of a second jet of particles. This jet is
not visible in the radio image.
Researchers also found a diffuse cloud of X-ray emission surrounding
the end of the jet on the left. This X-ray emission is most likely from a
gigantic bubble of hot gas heated by the interaction of the jet's
particles with surrounding matter. As the hot bubble expanded and swept
through four neighboring galaxies it could have created a shock wave
that compressed cool gas in the galaxies, causing stars to form. The
authors estimate that the star formation rates are between about 100%
and 400% higher than typical galaxies with similar masses and distance
from Earth.
Credit X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF/R. Gilli et al.; Radio NRAO/VLA; Optical: NASA/STScI
The black hole's galaxy and the four galaxies with boosted star formation have at least three neighboring galaxies. This system of galaxies was identified using observations with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). These galaxies will likely become part of a group or cluster of galaxies that has been caught early in its formation process.
Astronomers have seen many cases where a black hole affects its
surroundings through "negative feedback". This occurs when the black
hole chokes off star formation because it injects sufficient energy into
a galaxy's or a galaxy cluster's hot gas to prevent it from cooling
down to make stars. In this newly discovered collection of galaxies,
astronomers have found a less common example of positive feedback, where
the black hole's effects increase star formation.
The researchers used a total of six days of Chandra observing time
spread out over five months. A paper describing these results has been
published in the most recent issue of the journal "Astronomy and
Astrophysics" and is available online. NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight
operations from Cambridge and Burlington, Massachusetts.
Source: NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory
Fast Facts for Positive Feedback Black Hole:
Scale: Image is about 2 arcmin (3.4 million light years) across.
Category: Black Holes, Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000): RA 10h 30m 27s | Dec +05° 24´ 55"
Constellation: Sextans
Observation Date: 10 pointings Jan 17, 2017- May 27, 2017
Observation Time: 132 hours 58 min (5 days 12 hours 58 minutes)
Obs. ID: 18185-18187, 19926, 19987, 19994-19995, 20045-20046, 20081
Instrument: ACIS
References: Gilli, R. et al. 2019; A&A in press. arXiv:1909.00814
Color Code: X-Ray: Red; Radio: Blue; Optical: Yellow
Distance Estimate: About 9.9 billion light years (z=1.7)
