Physicists Discover First “Black Hole Triple”
Most black holes discovered to date are found in binary systems, where a black hole orbits closely with a companion object, such as a star or another black hole, forming a gravitationally bound pair. But a new discovery has changed the typical narrative around black holes and their cosmic companions.
In a study published in Nature, physicists from MIT and Caltech report the first observation of a “black hole triple” system. This unique system includes a central black hole drawing in a star that orbits it closely, completing one revolution every 6.5 days. Remarkably, a second star is also present but at an extreme distance, orbiting the black hole approximately every 70,000 years.
This surprising discovery raises questions about the origins of the black hole itself. Black holes are generally thought to form from the explosive death of a massive star, known as a supernova, which releases immense energy and would likely push away loosely bound objects. Yet, the far-off companion star remains gravitationally bound, suggesting that the black hole may have formed through a “direct collapse” — a gentler process where a massive star collapses into a black hole without a violent explosion, leaving distant objects undisturbed.
“This system is super exciting for black hole evolution,” says study author Kevin Burdge, a fellow at MIT’s Department of Physics. He explains that the discovery challenges assumptions about how black holes form and suggests that more black hole triples may exist.
The research team discovered the black hole triple by examining archived images of V404 Cygni, a well-known black hole 8,000 light-years from Earth. Using Gaia satellite data, they confirmed the tandem motion of both stars in the system, strengthening the case for this unique gravitational arrangement. The likelihood of their synchronized motion being a coincidence is one in 10 million, reinforcing that this is indeed a gravitationally bound triple system.The discovery of a "black hole triple" system in V404 Cygni has opened new perspectives on black hole formation.
This unusual configuration includes a central black hole with two orbiting stars. The inner star spirals closely around the black hole, transferring material onto it every 6.5 days. Surprisingly, a second, distant star orbits the black hole as well, completing an orbit roughly every 70,000 years. This distant relationship, maintained despite the gravitational pull of the black hole, suggests that the black hole likely formed through a less disruptive process called "direct collapse," where a star collapses into a black hole without a supernova explosion.
This finding, reported in Nature by a team from MIT and Caltech, challenges traditional views that black holes form exclusively from violent supernovae, which would typically expel any distant companions. By simulating different black hole formation scenarios, the team found that the triple system’s unique configuration could only have been retained through a direct collapse rather than a supernova event.
Moreover, the outer star’s red giant phase has allowed researchers to estimate the age of the system to be around 4 billion years, a new accomplishment for dating an older black hole system. This discovery sheds light on black hole evolution and raises the possibility that there may be more black hole triple systems formed through direct collapse, potentially altering our understanding of black hole origins.
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