Recent findings from NASA’s IXPE mission provide insight into coronas, plasma structures important in the flow of matter toward black holes. (NASA)
New data from NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission provides new insights into the shape and properties of an important structure for black holes, called the corona.
Coronas are regions of changing plasma and are part of the flow of matter towards black holes, the understanding of which is still theoretical. These new results reveal the shape of the corona for the first time and could help scientists’ understanding of its role in feeding and maintaining black holes.
Many black holes, from which no light can escape due to their immense gravity, are surrounded by accretion disks, vortices of gas filled with debris. Some black holes also have relativistic jets—ultra-powerful blasts of matter thrown into space at high speeds by black holes that are actively consuming the matter around them.
Less well known, perhaps, is that the black holes that “eat” also have very hot coronas, similar to those of the Sun and other stars. While the Sun’s corona, which is the star’s outer atmosphere, burns at a temperature of about 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a black hole’s corona is estimated to reach billions of degrees.
Astrophysicists have previously identified coronas between stellar-mass black holes—those formed by the collapse of stars—and supermassive black holes like those at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy.
“Scientists have long speculated about the composition and geometry of the corona,” said Lynnie Saade, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and lead author of the new findings. “Is it a sphere above and below the black hole, or an atmosphere produced by the accretion disk, or perhaps plasma located at the base of the jet?”
Enter IXPE, which specializes in X-ray polarization, a characteristic of light that helps map the shape and structure of even the most powerful energy sources, illuminating their internal workings even if the object is too small, bright, or far away to see directly.
Just as we can safely observe the Sun’s corona during a total solar eclipse, IXPE provides a way to clearly study the geometry of black hole accretion, namely the shape and structure of the accretion disk and associated structures, including the corona.
“X-ray polarization provides a new way to examine the accretion geometry of black holes,” Saade said. “If the accretion geometry of black holes is similar regardless of mass, we expect the same to be true for their polarization properties.”
IXPE shows that among all black holes whose corona properties can be measured directly via polarization, the corona is found to be elongated in the same direction as the accretion disk—providing, for the first time, a clue to the shape of the corona and clear evidence of its relationship to the accretion disk. These results rule out the possibility that the corona is shaped like a lamppost floating above the disk.
The research team studied data from IXPE observations of 12 black holes, including Cygnus X-1 and Cygnus stellar black hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud more than 165,000 light years away.
IXPE also observed a number of supermassive black holes, including the one at the center of the Circinus galaxy, 13 million light years from Earth, and those in the galaxies NGC 1068 and NGC 4151, 47 million light years and nearly 62 million light years away, respectively.
Stellar-mass black holes typically have masses of about 10 to 30 times the mass of the Sun, while supermassive black holes can have masses that are millions to tens of billions of times greater. Despite the large difference in scale, the IXPE data shows both types of black holes create accretion disks with similar geometries.
That’s surprising, said astrophysicist Marshall Philip Kaaret, principal investigator of the IXPE mission, because the way the two types are fed is so different.
“A black hole with the mass of a star rips the mass out of its companion star, while a supermassive black hole devours everything around it,” he said. “However, the accretion mechanism functions in a very similar way.”
That’s an exciting prospect, Saade said, because it suggests that the study of stellar-mass black holes—which are typically much closer to Earth than their much more massive relatives—could help provide new insights into the nature of supermassive black holes as well.
The team next hopes to carry out additional examination of both types.
Saade anticipates that there is still much to be learned from X-ray studies of these giants. “IXPE has provided the first opportunity in a long time for X-ray astronomy to reveal the underlying accretion process and uncover new findings about black holes,” he said. (NASA/Z-3)
Nasa’s IXPE Mission: Shedding Light on the Dark Side of Black Holes
Alright, readers! Grab your telescopes and put on your cosmic thinking caps because NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) has just dropped some luminous intel about black holes that will make even Stephen Hawking’s hair stand on end. Or should I say, it’s slipped black holes a cheeky package of insights that have us all gasping like it’s a plot twist in your favorite soap opera. Yes, we’re talking about black hole coronas, not to be confused with the beloved beer! These aren’t the kind you down on a hot day; these are plasma regions getting all hot and bothered as they flirt with the universe!
Now, as we roll into this stellar drama, we find that these coronas play a crucial role in the cosmic cut-and-thrust happening around black holes—where matter gets sucked in faster than you can say “gravity!” Before IXPE came along, we were left scrambling to figure out if these coronas were shaped like delicious doughnuts, mystical mushrooms, or those weird hats your grandma knitted. Thanks to new data, it appears the corona’s design is more like one of those fancy lampshades that seem to defy gravity—it’s elongated and aligned perfectly with the accretion disk! So, no more mix-ups between your living room décor and the mysterious geometry of the cosmos, folks!
As scientists have danced around the subject for ages, they’ve grasped that a black hole’s corona can reach up to billions of degrees Fahrenheit—now that’s hotter than a summer’s day in the Sahara! Meanwhile, our good old Sun’s corona only boasts a measly 1.8 million degrees. I’m telling you; black holes know how to throw a party! It’s so hot, you wouldn’t want to touch it unless you’re looking for the cosmic equivalent of a bad tattoo!
The IXPE’s Cosmic Camera: X-ray Polarization
Picture this: ixpe is like the James Bond of X-ray astronomy—an astute gadget that specializes in revealing the very fabric and twist of cosmic structures that until now, were left in the dark. Just like you shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day, IXPE won’t leave behind any traces of confusion. With specific focus on X-ray polarization, it helps scientists (and everyone else with an overactive imagination) to map the energy sources around black holes, making the invisible, visible.
As noted by some serious brainiac named Lynnie Saade, who is the scientist equivalent of a rockstar in a lab coat, this discovery has opened doors that were once shut tighter than a drum. But that’s not all, my curious friends! It suggests that the feeding habits of stellar-mass black holes—which munch on companion stars—mirror the dietary indulgences of supermassive black holes, the ones languidly gobbling up everything in their path like an oversized vacuum cleaner lost in the Milky Way. Something tells me both kinds have quite a bit to discuss over coffee!
Prepare for More Cosmic Revelations!
In summary, IXPE is flipping the narrative on black hole research, turning what was once a guessing game into a more structured investigation. With our newfound understanding of these fiery coronas and their relationship to accretion disks, we stand on the fringes of monumental discoveries. It’s like pulling the veil back on the universe’s buffet table—you never know what delicious secrets await!
So, what’s next for these cosmic sleuths? Saade and her team are leaning in for more observations, pushing the envelope of what we know about black holes and their extravagant lifestyles. At the end of the day, the zany world of X-ray astronomy is just warming up, and if you’re not paying attention, you might just miss the next big cosmic party!
Stay tuned for more updates as we venture into the wild blue yonder, and remember: just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not a hot topic. Or, as we’ve learned today, a hot corona!
