Computer simulations provide information about the ejection process of black holes and neutron stars Scientists have modeled the formation of black holes and neutron stars after the collapse of dying stars and explained why some of them receive powerful shocks that propel them into interstellar space.

A black hole undergoes a significant acceleration when its parent star dies in a catastrophic explosion. New research shows that these newborn black holes ejected from their parent stars are moving at considerable speeds. New data could reveal the first moments of a black hole’s life.

Black holes and neutron stars form within the cores of massive, dying stars. Nearing the end of its life, a star with a mass at least eight times the mass of the Sun collapses, with iron atoms bonding together in its core. This creates proton-neutron stars, clusters of neutrons the size of cities. This cluster temporarily halts the gravitational collapse of the remaining stars, which would normally cause them to explode as supernovae. However, sometimes the pressure at the center of these explosions can increase and the proton-neutron star turns into a black hole. Previous computer models of supernovae have simulated only a fraction of a second in the process, long enough to capture the explosion itself, but observations of actual black holes and neutron stars are an interesting physical phenomenon to study. It was showing. Some neutron stars are moving at speeds of more than 3.4 million miles per hour, suggesting they were ejected in an explosion, while others are moving 30 times slower, suggesting a quieter birth process. suggests.

On the other hand, despite the catastrophic nature of black hole formation, the rate of black hole emission is low in most cases. A team of astronomers ran 20 computer simulations of supernovae to explain the early existence of black holes and neutron stars. The simulation was long enough to show how each object is ejected from its host star. Astronomers have discovered a strong link between the properties of the host star before it explodes and the properties of the resulting neutron star or black hole. If the parent star has a small mass and is not very compact, the outer layers of the star expand relative to the center, and the supernova suddenly explodes in a nearly symmetrical manner, producing a slowly moving neutron star. However, very large and compact precursors take longer to explode, and their explosion is not symmetrical. This causes the ejected neutron star to move at high speed. The researchers also found that larger neutron stars tend to receive stronger pulses, meaning that more mass of compact precursors is transferred into the neutron star. A direct shock from the host star’s flare also causes the neutron star to rotate, and the stronger the shock, the faster it rotates.

Therefore, the asymmetric explosion of the parent star not only releases the neutron star, but also initiates its first rotation. This phenomenon could explain the formation of magnetars, rapidly rotating neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields. There are two mechanisms for the formation of black holes. In some cases, the star does not explode, but the pressure in its core increases to the point where it forms a black hole. Such black holes typically have about 10 times the mass of the Sun and are virtually motionless. They make up the majority of black holes. However, black holes can also form in other ways. In some cases, the progenitor star explodes completely, ejecting some of its mass, leaving behind a small black hole with about three times the mass of the Sun. The study found that these black holes have enormous “emission velocities” of more than 3.6 million kilometers per hour. However, black holes that move at such high speeds are extremely rare.

This study provides an important connection between observable objects such as neutron stars and black holes that move through space and the unknown details of the host star’s explosion process. Studying the properties of neutron stars and black holes allows astronomers to build a complete picture of a star’s life cycle. This will expand our knowledge of the processes occurring in the universe and help us understand the deeper mechanisms that lead to the formation of these exotic cosmic objects.