Ritmo espacial: un agujero negro como reloj universal

Un equipo científico internacional liderado por el Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA) ha descubierto la variabilidad sin precedentes de la emisión de rayos X procedente del agujero negro situado en el núcleo de una galaxia activa (AGN). El nuevo fenómeno, acuñado como ‘erupciones cuasi-periódicas» (QPEs), ayudará a comprender algunos aspectos desconcertantes de la acreción de los agujeros negros.

imagen artística de un disco de acreción alrededor de un agujero negro con la silueta superpuesta del observatorio de rayos X XMM-Newton. © Ignacio de la Calle (ESAC).

 

La emisión de rayos X procedente del núcleo de GSN 069, una galaxia a unos 250 millones de años luz de la Tierra, se detectó por primera vez en el verano de 2010 durante una observación del telescopio espacial XMM-Newton de la Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA).
Desde ese año, los observatorios de rayos X XMM-Newton y Neil Gehrels Swift (NASA) han seguido observando la evolución de la emisión de GSN 069, constatando que ha ido decayendo lentamente con el tiempo, lo que sería consistente con la repentina destrucción de una estrella (probablemente una gigante) que se acercó demasiado y fue reforzada por las intensas fuerzas de marea del agujero negro, lo que se conoce como un ‘evento de disrupción de marea’.
Como señala Giovanni Miniutti, investigador del Centro de Astrobiología y autor principal del presente estudio, “aunque pudiera haber otras posibles explicaciones, sospechamos que ese estallido de rayos X de 2010 fue debido a la destrucción de una estrella en el núcleo de GSN 069; y el posterior decaimiento de la emisión, al acrecimiento de los restos de la estrella hacia el agujero negro central”. Los datos del estudio indican que se trata de un agujero negro con una masa de unas cien mil millones de veces la masa del Sol.
Aunque la observación de este tipo de eventos sea de gran importancia para estudiar en detalle los fenómenos de acreción (la adición de masa a partir de materia circundante) en los agujeros negros, la galaxia GSN 069 escondía todavía una inesperada sopresa para los investigadores.
Lo que ha descubierto recientemente el equipo de Miniutti y que ha sido publicado en la revista Nature, es un nuevo y espectacular fenómeno que está ocurriendo en GSN 069. En la víspera de Navidad de 2018, XMM-Newton detectó unas enormes erupciones de rayos X que se repetían, algo que nunca se había visto en galaxias activas. Durante estas erupciones ‘cuasi-periódicas’ (o QPEs, Quasi Periodic Eruptions), término acuñado por los autores, la emisión de rayos X de GSN 069 aumentaba en un factor de cien durante aproximadamente una hora, y el fenómeno se repetía cada 9 horas.
Dado el enorme interés del descubrimiento se realizaron de nuevo observaciones con los telescopios XMM-Newton y Chandra (NASA) en enero y febrero de 2019, que confirmaron que las erupciones se mantenían, al menos durante un par de meses.
Este extraordinario evento, observado por primera vez, permitirá mejorar la comprensión sobre algunos de los aspectos más desconcertantes asociados con la acreción de los agujeros negros.
Las erupciones cuasi periódicas de GSN 069 son un fenómeno tan nuevo que su origen físico necesita ser identificado todavía.
El equipo GSN 069 es una colaboración internacional liderada por el Centro de Astrobiología y con la participación de instituciones de España, EEUU, Reino Unido, Sudáfrica, Francia, Australia y Bélgica. El equipo utilizó datos astronómicos de los observatorios de rayos X SMM-Newton, Chandra y Neil Gehrel Swift, el Telescopio Espacial Hubble, el Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), el Australia Telescope Compact Array (ACTA) y los radiotelescopios sudafricanos MeerKAT.

 

Compartir:

Entradas relacionadas

977 comentarios

  2. Another thing I have noticed is that often for many people, low credit score is the reaction to circumstances outside of their control. For example they may be really saddled having an illness and as a consequence they have excessive bills for collections. It could be due to a employment loss or even the inability to go to work. Sometimes divorce or separation can truly send the budget in a downward direction. Many thanks for sharing your notions on this blog.

  5. Your article has brought some peace of mind. This information is magnificent. This is an excellent, an eye-opener for sure! Great read. I tried adult dating. Thanks for writing this. I really like your article. This is an excellent, an eye-opener for sure! I truly appreciate this post. I enjoyed reading this. I really like your article. Your article has proven useful to me. Thanks for writing this. You’ve made my day! Thx again. Interesting content. It’s like you wrote the book on it or something. Great post!

  7. You’ve made my day! Thx again. Some nice points there. I enjoyed reading what you had to say. I will just say , good! quality product? Great post! Some nice points there. You’ve made my day! Thx again. Interesting content. This information is magnificent. Some nice points there. Hit me up! Good job on this article! Got sucked into your site for almost the last few hours. Some nice points there. I enjoyed your post. Thank you. I will just say , good!

  10. Good job on this article! Great post! Your article has proven useful to me. You appear to know a lot about this. Have you used dirty anal? You appear to know a lot about this. I truly appreciate this post. You appear to know a lot about this. You appear to know a lot about this. Good job on this article! This information is magnificent. Great read. Nice write up. I enjoyed reading this. This information is magnificent. This is an excellent, an eye-opener for sure! Great post!

  12. Interesting content. I am not an expert but it seems to me like this information could be really useful if it were in the hands of the people who knew what to do with it. It is odd to hear this from you. I really like your article. Check out site link. Thank you a lot for sharing this. Nice write up. I have been looking everywhere for this! Great post! Nice read. Some nice points there. Great read. I really like your article. This is an excellent, an eye-opener for sure! I’m not an expert however, it looks to me like this information would be really valuable if it were given to the people who knew how to apply it. It’s like you read my thoughts! You appear to know a lot about this.

  13. This information is magnificent. This information is magnificent. Have they tried reach out to other content creators that have an understanding about this stuff? I really like your article. ripoff site are a fake website. This information is magnificent. Great post! Great post! I really like your article. It’s like you wrote the book on it or something. You are a very persuasive writer. Interesting content. Not everyone is good at thinking outside of the box and still being detail oriented. I truly appreciate this post. Some nice points there. Have you tried connect with other content creators that have an understanding about this topic? But not everyone is good at thinking outside of the box and still being detail oriented.

  15. Hit me up! I enjoyed your post. Thank you. This is an excellent, an eye-opener for sure! Nice read. I have been happy with bad reviews. Great post! I enjoyed your post. Thank you. Hit me up! It’s like you wrote the book on it or something. Great post! Nice read. Hit me up! Nice read. You are a very persuasive writer. I really like your article. You appear to know a lot about this. It’s like you wrote the book on it or something.

  16. You’ve made my day! Thx again. Nice write up. I enjoyed reading this. Nice read. I used personal ads Really sorry to bother you, but we could have just a few more questions I would like answers for. Nice read. I enjoyed reading what you had to say. Great read. Really sorry to bother you, however we might have just a couple more questions I’d like answers for. Great post! Nice read. I really like your article. For some reason your website takes just over 30 seconds to fully load on my dads tablet. I have been looking everywhere for this! Thumbs up! Some nice points there.

  20. Thanks for writing this. Good writing and straight to the heart of the matter. Thumbs up! Nice read. The people at cheap viagra are a bunch of scumbags. Thumbs up! I truly appreciate this post. I truly appreciate this post. Nice write up. I just needed to tell you that this article is awesome . I really like your article. I have been looking everywhere for this! I simply have to tell you that your articles are totally awesome. You are a very persuasive blog writer. Awesome writing and straight to the heart of the matter. Nice read. I simply have to tell you that your blogs are awesome.

  21. You are obviously very knowledgeable. I really do wish I was able to fully understand the intricacies of this subject but much of this is confusing to me. This information is magnificent. I really like your article. site link? I would like to be a mentor in this subject . I really do wish I could fully understand the intricacies of this topic but much of this is confusing to me. I am really impressed ! I enjoyed your post. Thank you. It’s like you wrote the book on it or something. Thanks for writing this. Thumbs up! It’s like you wrote the book on it or something. You appear to know a lot about this. I really do wish I was able to better understand the finer details of this subject but much of this is confusing to me. I am totally impressed ! Thanks again.

  22. It’s like you read my thoughts! I enjoyed reading what you had to say. I have been looking everywhere for this!{ You are a very persuasive writer.| You’ve made my day! Thx again.| You appear to know a lot about this.| I truly appreciate this post. | I have been telling people exactly the same thing for weeks. Free membership. I really like your article. Thanks for writing this. I have been looking everywhere for this!{ Interesting content.| You’ve made my day! Thx again.| You appear to know a lot about this.| I truly appreciate this post. | I’ve been telling people exactly the same thing for months. I am hooked on your points. I enjoyed reading what you had to say. Some nice points there.{ You appear to know a lot about this.| Hit me up!| You appear to know a lot about this.| I truly appreciate this post. | I have been telling people exactly the same thing for weeks. Hit me up! Thumbs up! It’s like you read my thoughts!{ Interesting content.| Your article has proven useful to me. | You appear to know a lot about this.| It’s like you read my thoughts!| I’ve been saying exactly the same thing for weeks.

  24. How do you think it is even possible that everything got this bad? You appear to know a lot about this. Some nice points there. Some nice points there.

Deja un comentario