Scientists decode the 'heartbeat' of black holes with new simulations
Astronomers have figured out what causes the mysterious flickers—called quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs)—in black hole radiation.
Using advanced computer simulations, they found these flickers are actually unstable shock waves in the swirling gas disks around black holes.
How do these cosmic flickers work?
As gas spirals into a black hole, it hits shock waves that slow it down and heat it up, kind of like a cosmic speed bump.
When things get extra turbulent, bubbles form behind these shocks and mess with the gas' density and temperature—basically setting the rhythm for those QPOs we see.
Why does this matter?
The team's simulations also produced powerful jets shooting out from around black holes at over 25% the speed of light—all thanks to turbulence in those disks.
This research, led by ARIES and partners across India, Poland, and France, helps us understand how some of space's wildest phenomena really work.