Japanese scientists use a Chilean telescope to observe a chaotic region around an active black hole in a nearby galaxy. For the first time, the researchers were able to track and measure the magnitude of the flow in all its stages, including atoms, molecules and plasma. The scientists also determined that accretion flows are produced by a mechanism called gravitational instability.
Circassian Galaxy
Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan observed the Circassian Galaxy using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) astronomical observatory in the northern Chilean desert. Like most galaxies, a supermassive black hole lurks at the core of the Rectus galaxy, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. The supermassive black hole is actively feeding, surrounded by a ring of inward-spinning gas and dust, the tormented material glowing brightly at all wavelengths due to extreme friction. This is known as an active galactic nucleus or active galactic nucleus. Active black holes are also known as bright black holes.
Accretion Disk
Researchers have also observed that supermassive black holes do not actually feed on a large portion of the accreted material, but rather play with its food. Most of the gas is expelled back into the accretion disk, similar to the flow of water in a fountain. The amount of material delivered to the supermassive black hole is about 30 times the amount of material needed to sustain an active galactic nucleus. The researchers also observed that the disk is too massive to maintain the shape maintained by the pressure of its motion and collapses under the influence of its own gravity, creating a complex structure that causes the material to fall rapidly towards the supermassive black hole, a process known as “gravitational instability”.