Kyungpook National University research team proposes a new detection method for multi-massive black holes

Kyungpook National University research team proposes a new detection method for multi-massive black holes

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Discovery of multi-active galactic nuclei by gas motion analysis

Kyungpook National University's Black Hole Research Team (Dr. Jaejin Shin, Professor Minjin Kim from the left). Provided by Kyungpook National University
Kyungpook National University’s Black Hole Research Team (Dr. Jaejin Shin, Professor Minjin Kim from the left). Provided by Kyungpook National University

A research team at Kyungpook National University has proposed a new method to detect multi-massive black holes by analyzing gas motion in the center of the galaxy.

Researcher Jaejin Shin (Doctor of Science) of the Department of Earth System Science at Kyungpook National University, Professor Minjin Kim, and Professor Jonghak Woo of Seoul National University’s team analyzed the gas motion in the center of the galaxy. Found evidence that there is. This study was published on February 16 of this year in the international journal The Astrophysical Journal.

Galaxies evolve primarily through merging. As neighboring galaxies collide and merge, they grow into huge galaxies. Also, in the centers of most heavy galaxies, there are massive black holes with masses ranging from one million to billions of times the mass of the Sun. Taken together, these facts suggest that two or more multimassive black holes can be expected in a converging galaxy. These multi-massive black holes are considered to be the key to understanding the stages of galactic merging.

Black holes are celestial bodies that cannot escape even light due to a strong gravitational field. Likewise, a massive black hole is very difficult to observe in general, but it can be observed in the form of an active galactic nucleus that occurs when matter enters a massive black hole. Therefore, multiple megamass black holes are mainly found in the form of multiple active galactic nuclei. The main method of detecting multiple active galactic nuclei is to find multiple nuclei in galaxies observed in different wavelength bands. There are only about 30 multimassive black holes discovered using this method. For statistical research, additional multi-massive black hole detection is of paramount importance.

The research team at Kyungpook National University analyzed the gas motion in the center of NGC 1068 using observation data from the Very Large Telescope, an 8.2m telescope in Chile. As a result, in addition to gas eruptions from the well-known active galactic nucleus in the galactic center, the center of the galaxy. Found another gas eruption from an area about 600 light-years to the northeast. Gas eruption is a phenomenon in which surrounding gas is pushed out by the enormous energy from the active galactic nucleus. It is a phenomenon frequently found in the active galactic nucleus and is one of the powerful indicators of the active galactic nucleus. In other words, the presence of another gas eruption suggests the possibility of another active galactic nucleus in NGC 1068.

NGC 1068 double ionized oxygen gas in the galactic center ([OIII]) Of the two-dimensional line-of-sight velocity distribution and gas ejection schematic. Blue means getting closer to us, and red means getting away from us. The figure on the left shows the gas ejection from the active galactic nucleus in the center of the NGC 1068 galaxy (X), and the figure on the right shows an area (X1, the second active galactic nucleus) about 600 light-years away from the galactic center in the direction northeast (top left in the figure). Shows the gas ejection from the predicted position of). Provided by Kyungpook National University
NGC 1068 double ionized oxygen gas in the galactic center ([OIII]) Of the two-dimensional line-of-sight velocity distribution and gas ejection schematic. Blue means getting closer to us, and red means getting away from us. The figure on the left shows the gas ejection from the active galactic nucleus in the center of the NGC 1068 galaxy (X), and the figure on the right shows an area (X1, the second active galactic nucleus) about 600 light-years away from the galactic center in the direction northeast (top left in the figure). Shows the gas ejection from the predicted position of). Provided by Kyungpook National University

This study is of great significance in that it has found multiple active galactic nuclei using gas motion in addition to the conventional method using photographs.

Researcher Jaejin Shin said, “We expect this study to contribute greatly to understanding the consolidation of galaxies and the evolution of galaxies.”

This research was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Basic Research Project of the National Research Foundation of Korea.

*Title of thesis: Revisiting the complex kinematics of ionized gas at the central region of NGC 1068: Evidence of an additional Active Galactic Nucleus? (Reconsideration of the complex motion of ionizing gases in the center of NGC 1068: evidence of additional active galactic nuclei?)

*Active galactic nucleus(active galactic nucleus): A celestial body that shines very brightly in the center of the galaxy. It is understood that it is caused by the formation of an accretion disk and the release of enormous energy when matter enters the massive black hole located in the center of the galaxy.

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