Supermassive Black Holes Grew by Consuming Gas and Entire Stars

Last edited Sun Jun 7, 2020, 08:24 AM - Edit history (1)

JUNE 5, 2020 BY EVAN GOUGH

Where do they come from, those beguiling singularities that flummox astrophysicists—and the rest of us. Sure, we understand the processes behind stellar mass black holes, and how they form from the gravitational collapse of a star.

But what about the staggering behemoths at the center of galaxies, those supermassive black holes (SMBH) that can grow to be billions of times more massive than our Sun?

How do they get so big?

It’s pretty clear that SMBHs don’t start out that massive. They must grow. And in broad terms, there are only two ways that can happen: a massive progenitor star forms, the over time through mergers and consumption, it becomes massive enough to one day be a SMBH.

The problem is, studies show that the conditions for the formation of these massive progenitors are rare, and can’t explain the large number of SMBHs astronomers see out there: one at the center of each large galaxy.

The authors of a new paper think they’ve figured it out, by using a powerful supercomputer.

More:
https://www.universetoday.com/146397/supermassive-black-holes-grew-by-consuming-gas-and-entire-stars/#:~:text=Supermassive%20Black%20Holes%20Grew%20by%20Consuming%20Gas%20and%20Entire%20Stars,-Where%20do%20they&text=And%20in%20broad%20terms%2C%20there,one%20day%20be%20a%20SMBH.