Astrophysics: Jellyfish galaxies feeding supermassive black holes
Nature
August 17, 2017
An explanation of how supermassive black holes are fed in ‘jellyfish’ galaxies is proposed in this week’s Nature.
Most galaxies are thought to contain a supermassive black hole at their centres, but only a few are accumulating, or accreting, matter, producing highly energetic active galactic nuclei (AGN). Jellyfish galaxies are characterized by long ‘tentacles’ of gas and newly born stars that make them resemble their aquatic animal namesakes. These features are thought to be indicative of gas being stripped away owing to the motion of the galaxy through the intracluster medium (the gas that exists between galaxies in clusters of galaxies), a process known as ram-pressure stripping.
Bianca Poggianti and colleagues observe seven jellyfish galaxies and report the presence of AGN in six of these. The authors propose that the ram pressure responsible for stripping gas from these galaxies could also funnel gas towards the central supermassive black hole, triggering AGN activity.
doi: 10.1038/nature23462
Research highlights
-
Jan 15
Environment: Seagrass meadows may facilitate marine plastic removal from the seaScientific Reports
-
Jan 15
Planetary Science: Mercury may have shrunk less than previously thoughtCommunications Earth＆Environment
-
Jan 13
Environment: Polyester fibres found to be widespread in the ArcticNature Communications
-
Dec 23
Planetary science: Over 100,000 new craters identified on the MoonNature Communications
-
Dec 22
Conservation: Agricultural expansion could cause widespread biodiversity declines by 2050Nature Sustainability
-
Dec 18
Geology: Alpine summits may have been ice-free during life of Tyrolean IcemanScientific Reports
