A group of American astronomers has proven that the observatory’s archived documents are a treasure trove. Observations of the center of elliptical galaxy B2 0402+379 by the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii have revealed enough information to determine the “weight” of its pair of supermassive black holes.
Its total mass represents the historical observational record, weighing the equivalent of 28 billion suns. Galaxy B2 0402+379, also known as radio galaxy 4C+37.11, is 750 million light-years away. This is a “fossil” object left behind where a galaxy cluster once was. This galaxy probably formed through several stages of merging other galaxies in the cluster, which could also explain the formation of supermassive black holes.
Archival data about the star at the center of B2 0402+379 has made it possible to construct a picture of the behavior of its hidden mass: a pair of supermassive black holes orbiting each other. Accurately selected models made it possible to calculate the total mass of these objects, which turned out to be 28 billion solar masses, a record for a binary SBS system.
Astronomers have never observed this before. But that wasn’t the only surprise. Based on the parameters of the supermassive black hole and star binary system at the center of the remnants of an ancient galaxy cluster, we can estimate that the pair orbited each other for about 3 billion years, just 24 light-years apart.
Typically, SMBH binary systems complete their dance by merging at the center of the galaxy to form a single supermassive black hole. In this case, it did not happen, and as scientists suspect, it may never happen – their “dance” could prove eternal! Theory, models, and observations suggest that binary black holes (which occur when two galaxies merge) lose energy (angular momentum) through kinetic friction and interactions with surrounding matter and stars, causing them to approach each other. and merge into one object.
The SMBH pair observed at B2 0402+379 turned out to be quite large and is therefore expected to be an exception to this rule. First, it absorbed or moved all matter from the surrounding space. This allowed the black hole to retain a significant portion of its angular momentum and barely be able to slow down its orbital motion. Second, each SMBH pair is very large, so the energy loss due to gravitational wave radiation to them is very small.
The system seems to be as stable as possible. Scientists will continue to observe B2 0402+379 in hopes of detecting how the black hole interacts with the matter there. This will give you a more detailed understanding of the ongoing and possible processes in your binary system. After all, this is an opportunity to learn something new and unusual about the evolution of black holes and galaxies, which is extremely valuable.