Black Holes Turn Up the Heat for the Universe Astrophysicists have just discovered a new heating source in cosmological structure formation. Until now, astrophysicists thought that super-massive black holes could only influence their immediate surroundings. A collaboration of scientists at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) and in Canada and the US have now discovered that diffuse gas in the universe can absorb luminous gamma-ray emission from black holes, heating it up strongly. This surprising result has important implications for the formation of structures in the universe. In this graphic: A supermassive black hole is surrounded by a dust ring (torus). The collapse of gas onto the black hole launches an energetic jet of matter and radiation, which is transported over cosmological distances. A jet that is pointing into our direction is called a “blazar.” (Credit: ESA/NASA, the AVO project and Paolo Padovani) Read more here.

Black Holes Turn Up the Heat for the Universe

Astrophysicists have just discovered a new heating source in cosmological structure formation. Until now, astrophysicists thought that super-massive black holes could only influence their immediate surroundings. A collaboration of scientists at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) and in Canada and the US have now discovered that diffuse gas in the universe can absorb luminous gamma-ray emission from black holes, heating it up strongly. This surprising result has important implications for the formation of structures in the universe.

In this graphic:

A supermassive black hole is surrounded by a dust ring (torus). The collapse of gas onto the black hole launches an energetic jet of matter and radiation, which is transported over cosmological distances. A jet that is pointing into our direction is called a “blazar.” (Credit: ESA/NASA, the AVO project and Paolo Padovani)

Read more here.

sciencedaily.com

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