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Scientists may have observed something that has never been seen before: a black hole swallowing a neutron star.
About 900 million years ago, a catastrophic cosmic event caused a ripple in space-time that crossed the Earth last week (August 14). Scientists observed the event at both LIGO (gravitational wave laser interferometer observatory) and Virgo, the Italian counterpart of LIGO. After further investigation and initial speculation, scientists believe that this ripple could have been caused by the melting of a black hole and a neutron star.
At the present time, scientists can only confirm that the signal detected by LIGO and Virgo is a candidate for the gravitational wave, told Space.com Christopher Berry, a member of the LIGO team , physicist at Northwestern University. But, while Berry is reluctant to label the binary, known as S190814bv, because scientists have not yet confirmed which objects have merged and their exact sizes, "our initial estimates suggest that this could potentially be a hole black stars neutron binary, "he said.
On September 14, 2015, about a hundred years after Albert Einstein predicted their existence, LIGO performed the first gravitational wave detection. A few years later, scientists detect gravitational waves with regularity, said Berry. But, if this growth of gravitational wave astronomy is an incredible feat, it is still very difficult and tedious for researchers to determine which binary fusion is causing the "whistling" signal that LIGO and Virgo detect.
Previously, researchers had discovered binary systems consisting of two black holes and systems composed of two neutron stars. However, up to now, no detection of a black hole neutron star system has been confirmed. In this system, the black hole would eat away – or even swallow everything – the neutron star.
Scientists currently consider that the objects of these systems up to three times the mass of our sun are neutron stars and that objects representing at least five times the mass of our sun are black holes. However, scientists have not yet observed a black hole smaller than five solar masses or a neutron star greater than about two solar masses and a half, but they do not know what the minimum mass of a black hole or what is the maximum mass of a black hole. neutron star could be.
Thus, although the smallest object of this last detected bit is less than three solar masses, it may not be a neutron star. "If you want to make a bet, the neutron star is probably where you want to put your money," said Berry, suggesting that the smaller of the two objects is probably a neutron star. However, he added, "It is not yet certain, and although I would say it will probably be a neutron star, I just want to emphasize the uncertainty."
There are some possibilities regarding what LIGO and Virgo could detect.
The objects could be a neutron star binary; that is, the fiery fusion between two neutron stars, which are the collapsed nuclei of massive stars. It could also be a black hole binary. If this becomes a black hole binary, it means that one of the black holes in the system will have less than three solar masses and that it will be the smallest black hole ever observed.
Scientists would be excited to confirm that this is a merger between a black hole and a neutron star, because it's something no one has ever seen before, but one of those results possible would mark a step forward in scientific exploration. By studying these systems, "we can learn a lot about the physics that goes into the formation of neutron stars and black holes, so this is a further step in understanding how these binary systems evolve and form" said Berry.
To confirm what created the gravitational waves detected by LIGO and Virgo, scientists will scan the area of the sky where the fusion probably took place and try to get more information about the event. Gravitational astronomers can also study slight distortions of the signal detected by LIGO and Virgo, but, as Berry has mentioned, this method is very difficult.
"The ANU's SkyMapper telescope responded to the detection alert and scanned the entire likely area of the space where the event occurred," said Susan. Scott, professor at the Australian Nationality School of Research Physics, in a statement explaining his efforts to confirm merged. For the moment, "we have not found any visual confirmation.
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