Breakthrough in Understanding 'Impossible' Black Hole Collision

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding the merger of two massive black holes, labeled GW231123, which challenges previous assumptions about black hole formation. Detected in November 2023, this event involved two black holes with masses of approximately 100 and 130 solar masses, both of which fall into a category known as the mass gap.

According to Live Science, this mass gap exists between 70 and 140 solar masses, where it was believed that black holes could not form because stars of such mass would typically explode in supernovae, leaving no remnants.

However, the new research suggests that rapidly rotating, magnetized stars can collapse in ways that produce black holes within this forbidden range, allowing them to merge. Professor Ore Gottlieb from the Center for Computational Astrophysics, who led the research, explained that the formation of these black holes is linked to their rapid spins.

The study utilized advanced three-dimensional simulations, beginning with the life cycle of an extraordinarily massive star, about 250 times the mass of the sun. It was previously thought that such a star would collapse as a whole, forming a black hole with mass equal to that of the core.

Yet, Gottlieb's team found that rapid rotation can lead to the creation of an accretion disk around the newborn black hole. Strong magnetic fields within this disk can push out some of the stellar material, which reduces the final mass of the black hole, allowing it to fall into the mass gap.

This mechanism creates a connection between the mass and spin of the resulting black holes, with stronger magnetic fields leading to slower spins and less mass, while weaker fields result in faster spins and more mass.

The gravitational wave signals from GW231123 indicate that this mass-spin correlation is consistent with the black hole characteristics observed. This discovery is significant because it tests Einstein's general relativity under extreme conditions and provides insights into the formation of supermassive black holes.

The findings imply that massive black holes could form more efficiently than previously thought, altering our understanding of how early black holes evolved into the supermassive black holes observed at the centers of galaxies today.

Moving forward, as more gravitational wave events are detected, scientists will be able to further test these predictions and determine whether GW231123 points to a hidden population of massive, rapidly spinning black holes.

This could reshape our comprehension of cosmic history and the processes that govern black hole dynamics.