Scientists find thrilling new facts about supermassive black holes

Scientists in their latest findings have suggested how black holes could possibly collide with each other influenced by the cosmic traffic jam that occurs because of the swirling matter around the enormous void of the celestial giant.

The swirling matter can also affect smaller stellar black holes, according to the study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Black holes are massive objects found nearly at the centre of every galaxy. Nothing could escape its powerful gravitational pull not even light.

The movement of swirling matter causes traffic jams in the cosmos that could slow down the orbits of stellar-mass black holes, eventually causing them to collide, merge, or create a new black hole, reported space.com citing the study.

With the same process, more collisions occur, making black holes larger over time, with masses between three and a few hundred that of the sun.

The study suggested that the situation around massive black holes is ideal for the creation of new such objects.

The team from Monash University revealed their findings as they were studying the dynamics around the accretion disk. When stellar mass black holes are in the disk, their interaction with matter causes them to migrate through the disk.

Team leader and Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy researcher Evgeni Grishin said: "We looked at how many and where we’d have these busy intersections. Thermal effects play a crucial role in this process, influencing the location and stability of migration traps. One implication is that we don’t see migration traps occurring in active galaxies with large luminosity."

"We’re thrilled with the results, and we now are one step closer to discovering where and how black holes merge in galactic nuclei," Grishin concluded, adding "despite these significant findings, much is yet unknown."