Scientists conducted a unique study of colliding galaxies

A team of astronomers have made a great study of colliding galaxies

Astronomers first studied the final stage of merging galaxies, watching through the dense layers of gas and dust for the convergence of a pair of supermassive black holes and their rapid growth. A new study in an article for the journal Nature.

According to the models of merging galaxies provide supermassive black holes. Such processes produce a very strong radiation, and are likely to be the driving force behind the quasars are among the brightest objects in the Universe.

However, the authors of a new study claim that this is not a model for galactic mergers of supermassive black holes. While some works have pointed out the connection between quasars and colliding galaxies, this study was not found.

Now scientists have been able to observe several peers of galaxies that are in the late stages of merging, in the process of aligning their central supermassive black holes. New data has shed light on how can be seen even more massive black holes.

The searchers are very interested in the search for hidden black holes, after watching the x-ray data over 10 years orbital Observatory Swift. When black holes absorb matter, such "active" black holes produce high-energy x-ray radiation, which is visible even through the dense clouds of gas and dust.

Then scientists found galaxies that are coincidental with this x-ray data, after examining the pictures of the Hubble telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Adaptive optics the Keck Observatory has helped to sharpen the sharpness of the images of stars.

The researchers analyzed 96 galaxies observed at Keck Observatory, and 385 of galaxies from the Hubble Archive. They are all located on average 330 million light years from Earth – relatively close in astronomical terms, and many of them are similar to the Milky Way.

The researchers found that more than 17% of galaxies had a pair of black holes at their center. Therefore, these galaxies were already in the final stages of a merger. These data are computationally based, scientists, highly active, but hidden, in the galaxies, rich in gas and dust, responsible for many mergers of supermassive black holes.