Video: They show in simulation what happens when different stars meet a black hole

Posted:

November 30, 2021 04:44 GMT

They are the first models to combine Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity with realistic star density scenarios.

A group of astrophysicists has developed simulations that show what happens when stars with different characteristics meet a black hole.

NASA’s Goddard Center, which released a video of the simulation, Hinge In a statement published last week, the scientists, led by Taihu Ryo, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (Germany), created Eight star models With different masses and densities, while the calculated mass of the black hole was a million times the mass of the Sun.

They explain from NASA that these are the first simulations that “combine the physical effects of Einstein’s general theory of relativity with realistic stellar density models.” The simulation was accompanied by a study which was published in The Astrophysical Journal in November 2020.

In the models created, it can be seen that the gravity of the black hole causes the deformation of the stars: some They come completely back, in an event known as a tidal disturbance, while other Partially changed They were able to retain some of their mass and then return to their normal shape. By analyzing the factors that determine the outcome of these encounters, experts concluded that not only the mass, but also the density of objects plays an important role.

In addition, the study authors analyzed how the distance between stars, the black hole, and the different masses of black holes affect those encounters. “The results will help astronomers estimate how often full tidal disturbances occur in the universe and build more accurate images of these terrible cosmic events,” the NASA publication states.

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