Surrounded by Dark Matter: New Study Sheds Light on Black Holes and Cosmic Mystery

 A recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests that black holes may be enveloped by dark matter, potentially unraveling one of the universe's greatest enigmas. Dark matter constitutes approximately 85% of the cosmos' total mass, remaining unseen to human eyes and scientific instruments. To detect its presence, astronomers rely on gravitational interactions between dark matter and ordinary matter.

In this groundbreaking research, scientists from the University of Education in Hong Kong (EdUHK) studied stars orbiting two black holes – A0620–00 and XTE J1118+480 – and found that these stars' velocities decreased by roughly 1 millisecond per year. This unexpected slowdown hints at the possibility of dark matter surrounding black holes, generating a gravitational drag on the stars.

The research team employed a dynamic friction model of dark matter in a simulation, which revealed that stars subjected to these conditions could experience this effect. The model predicts a loss of energy in objects that gravitationally interact with this enigmatic matter. The simulation's speed loss rates aligned with the observations.

In the absence of surrounding dark matter, the theoretical estimate for a black hole's loss of orbital velocity would be a mere 0.02 milliseconds per year, making the observed rate 50 times higher. This suggests that the orbital decay of stars can be attributed to the presence of dark matter around black holes.

Chan Man Ho, the study's lead author and associate professor in the Department of Science and Environmental Studies at EdUHK, stated, "This is the first study to apply the 'dynamic friction model' in an effort to validate and prove the existence of dark matter around black holes."

This discovery holds promising implications for dark matter research. While black holes have long been suspected of consuming dark matter, direct observation has remained elusive. The research team plans to investigate other similar objects, as at least 18 binary systems exist within the Milky Way.

Unlike previous studies that used gamma rays and gravitational waves to search for dark matter near black holes, this research relies on measuring the orbital speeds of nearby stars and applying these observations to mathematical models.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Written by Chatsonic