2024-03-12 12:00:17
What actually fuels the growth of supermassive black holes in the hearts of galaxies and initiates the formation of new stars? A recent study sheds innovative light on this cosmic mystery, thanks toartificial intelligence (Artificial intelligence or cognitive computing is the “search for ways…).
Supermassive black holes, present at the center of all large galaxies, play a determining role in their evolution. Contrary to popular belief, their growth does not depend solely on mergers between galaxies. A research (Scientific research primarily refers to all actions undertaken with a view to…) led by theUniversity of Bath (The University of Bath is an English university located in…)and published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societydemonstrates that the presence of a gas reservoir cold (Cold is the opposite sensation of heat, associated with low temperatures.) in the center of the galaxy (Galaxies is a quarterly French magazine devoted to science fiction. With…) host is also necessary to power these cosmic giants.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This study, the first of its kind to use machine learning to classify galaxy mergers, provided insight into the relationship between these mergers, theaccretion (Accretion refers in astrophysics, geology and meteorology to the increase by…) supermassive black holes (the process by which they attract and accumulate matter) and star formation. Mathilda Avirett-Mackenzie, doctoral student in the Department of Physique (Physics (from the Greek φυσις, nature) is etymologically the…) of the’Université (A university is an establishment of higher education whose objective is…) of Bath, highlights the advantage of this approach, making it possible to obtain a more faithful reading of galactic activities, freed from human biases often present in traditional classifications.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers trained an artificial neural network on simulations of galaxy mergers, then applied this model to galaxies observed in theUniverse (The Universe is the totality of everything that exists and the laws that govern it.). This process revealed that galaxy mergers are not strongly associated with the growth of supermassive black holes. Indeed, merger signatures are equally common in galaxies with or without accreting black holes.
The study, which analyzed a sample of nearly 8,000 accreting black hole systems, indicates that mergers lead to black hole growth only in a specific type of galaxies: star-forming ones containing significant quantities of cold gas. This result highlights light (Light is all electromagnetic waves visible to the eye…) the importance of cold gas, not only for the formation of stars but also for the growth of supermassive black holes.
This discovery opens new perspectives for understanding the evolution of galaxies and the role of supermassive black holes. Using learning automatic (Automatics is part of engineering sciences. This discipline deals with…), researchers were able to overcome the limitations of human visual classifications, which are often prone to errors, and obtain consistent results across large samples of galaxies. This innovative approach promises to enrich our understanding of the Universe and its most mysterious mechanisms.
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