Using two powerful X-ray telescopes, scientists have observed a remarkably fierce cosmic wind being belched from a giant black hole. The monster wind is powerful enough it could potentially alter the fate of its host galaxy.
For the study published in the journal Science on Feb. 20, Fiona Harrison, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and colleagues used NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton telescope to observe the extremely bright black hole, a quasar, known as PDS 456 on five different instances in 2013 and 2014.
The researchers found that the massive black hole, which is located over 2 billion light years away, has energy per second that is more powerful compared with what is emitted by an equivalent of over a trillion suns.
"The outflow's kinetic power larger than 1046 ergs per second is enough to provide the feedback required by models of black hole and host galaxy coevolution," the researchers wrote.
Being this powerful, the researchers said that the wind could have a significant implication on the host galaxy's future. For one, as the black hole gets bigger, it would belch up winds that push amounts of matter outward, which can slow down the formation of stars in the rest of the galaxy.
Scientists also think it is possible that such powerful cosmic winds are a common part of the evolution of the galaxy and could be attributed for transforming galaxies from bright and active young cosmic entities to quieter middle-agers.
Because the black hole being studied is relatively close, it appears bright and can be examined in detail providing astronomers with a unique perspective into the early history of the universe about 10 billion years ago when gigantic black holes and their fierce winds were more common than today and may have shaped the galaxies that we see today.
The observations have likewise provided astronomers with the chance to measure the strength of these cosmic winds providing them with evidence that these are powerful enough to influence their host galaxy's ability to form new stars.
"For an astronomer, studying PDS 456 is like a paleontologist being given a living dinosaur to study," said study researcher Daniel Stern, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. "We are able to investigate the physics of these important systems with a level of detail not possible for those found at more typical distances, during the 'Age of Quasars.'"
