Listening to the Symphony of Newborn Black Holes

In an exciting scientific development, scientists have managed to “hear” the symphony of newborn black holes formed from the collision and merger of other black holes. This discovery, the first of its kind, was made through ripples in spacetime known as gravitational waves.

Detecting Gravitational Waves

The existence of newborn black holes was revealed thanks to gravitational waves resulting from violent cosmic events. These waves were recorded by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories, which are specialized in detecting gravitational waves.

On October 11, 2024, the first merger was discovered, described as an event between two black holes, one with a mass 17 times that of the sun and the other 7 times. This event occurred 700 million light-years away from Earth.

Second-Generation Black Holes

The discovered events indicate the presence of what are known as second-generation black holes. This concept is based on the differences in size between large and small black holes during mergers, where the smaller ones appear to weigh half the mass of their counterparts.

The opposite spin direction of the larger black holes in the merger event that generated the signal GW241110 is considered evidence that this black hole resulted from a previous merger.

Physical Challenges and New Horizons

These discoveries offer scientists a valuable opportunity to explore the limits of Einstein’s general theory of relativity from 1915. Thanks to the rapid spin of the black hole, scientists can study the distortions occurring within it and their impact on gravitational waves.

This suggests the possibility of revisiting some physical predictions, especially in the presence of particles like light bosons, which could potentially affect the rotational energy of black holes.

Conclusion

The discovery of newborn black holes through gravitational waves provides us with a unique window to understand the universe. Thanks to the collaboration between the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA observatories, we have gained new insights into how binary black holes form, along with major physical challenges that may contribute to reshaping our concepts of gravity and cosmic physics.