Recent research has revealed that black hole jets emit X-rays, but the process by which the jets accelerate particles to this high-energy state remains a mystery. A new study published in Nature Astronomy has challenged one leading theory, suggesting that particle acceleration in the jets may work differently than previously thought, and potentially also in other parts of the universe.
The study found that the X-ray emissions of a significant number of jets varied over just a few years, contradicting a leading model that expected the emissions to remain stable over millions of years. “One of the reasons we’re excited about the variability is that there are two main models for how X-rays are produced in these jets, and they’re completely different,” explains lead author Eileen Meyer, an astronomer at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “One model invokes very low-energy electrons and one has very high-energy electrons. And one of those models is completely incompatible with any kind of variability.”
The research team analyzed archival data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, looking at nearly all of the black hole jets for which Chandra had multiple observations, amounting to 155 unique regions within 53 jets. The discovery of frequent variability on such short time scales “is revolutionary in the context of these jets, because that was not expected at all,” Meyer says.
2023-05-29 13:00:03
Source from phys.org