Amazing discovery of Porphyrion
The dimensions are gigantic , summarizes Gabriela Calistro Rivera, aastrónomaCalistro is a 34-year-old Peruvian who currently works at the German Aerospace Center. Together with colleagues from Europe and the United States, Calistro announces today the discovery of the largest jets ever observed in the universe. These impressive jets are produced by a previously unknown supermassive black hole, calledPorfirión, which spits out two beams in opposite directions, reaching a distance equivalent to lining up 140 galaxies like the Milky Way, which is equivalent to 23 million light years .
Porphyrion is named after the greatest of the giants of themitología griegaThis supermassive black hole resembles those found at the centre of all galaxies, including our own. It formed when the universe was 6.3 billion years old, which is about half its current age. The jets emanating from this black hole release an energy equivalent to trillions of stars like the Sun, or the colossal collision of two galaxy clusters.
The discovery is published inNature, one of the most prestigious scientific journals.
Relativistic Jets and Physics
Porphyrion emanations are called relativistic jets, because the particles they contain—electrons, protons, heavy atoms—approach the speed of light, the maximum speed limit in the universe, according to theteoría de la relatividadThe law of physics states that nothing can escape from a black hole, and what falls into it never comes out. However, relativistic jets occur just before this critical moment, thanks to the intense friction of all the matter orbiting the black hole.
Using LOFAR in the Study
The research team has used theLOFAR, a low-frequency radio telescope located in the Netherlands, but also has antennas spread across several European countries. This observatory is capable of picking up low-frequency radio waves, signals that can travel from Porphyrion , due to the black hole's remoteness and age. Until now, it was believed that there were relatively few black holes with large jets, with only a few hundred observed. Thanks to the European telescope, the team has already discovered 11,000 unique jets .
Comparisons with other black holes
The largest confirmed jet system so far was Alcyoneus, discovered in 2022 by this same team. Alcyoneus spans about 100 Milky Ways. In comparison, the jets of Centaurus A, the closest system to Earth, are ten times smaller. Calistro explains that Porphyrion is a giant only in appearance, since within its galaxy it is comparable to a coin at the center of the Earth. “It is incredible that this tiny black hole, even though it is very massive, can have an influence on this entire galaxy.”
However, “the craziest thing,” Calistro warns, is that Porphyrion jets reach hundreds of times farther, influencing the composition of the universe on enormous scales . Theoretical models that attempt to explain the physics of these jets had never predicted beams of such magnitude. It is an unprecedented phenomenon in the cosmos that simultaneously redefines the role of black holes in the evolution of the universe.
Black holes and galaxies
Black holes have traditionally been viewed as destructive monsters, but this discovery suggests that they may be gardeners that control the growth and evolution of the galaxies around them. The details of this phenomenon are currently a very active field of study. According to Calistro, one possible explanation for what happens is that the relativistic jets raise the temperature of the galactic environment, preventing the gas from collapsing to form new stars.
The future of astronomy
The supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* , is currently dormant. However, researchers believe it may have spewed out powerful relativistic jets in the past. This is evidenced by two enormous bubbles observed at the top and bottom of the galaxy, so large that it would take 50,000 years to traverse them at the speed of light.
Using other telescopes in India and the United States, astronomers have found that the galaxy where Porphyrion resides is about 10 times more massive than the Milky Way. Because of the constant expansion of the universe, it is 7.5 billion light years away.
The investigation continues
The LOFAR telescope has covered only about 15 percent of the sky, suggesting it may have only discovered “the tip of the iceberg,” says Martjin Oei, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology and lead author of the study. It is plausible that similar objects exist that emerged in the early stages of the universe, which would contradict existing theories.
“ Until now, these giant jet systems seemed to be a phenomenon unique to the recent universe. If distant jets like these can reach the scale of the cosmic web, then it is possible that all regions of the universe have been affected by black hole activity at some point in their history ,” Oei explains.
The research does not stop here; the researcher wants to continue exploring how these megastructures affect the cosmos at a magnetic level. For example, on our planet, magnetism contributes to the prosperity of life. The challenge is to understand how this phenomenon originated and how it spreads through the cosmic web, reaching galaxies, stars and eventually planets.
Antxón Alberdi, director of the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia and not involved in the study, underlines its relevance, as it shows how black holes can influence the evolution of the cosmos on temporal and spatial scales that current models cannot adequately reproduce.
The study shows that Porphyrion and its galaxy did not appear in empty space, but in one of the filaments of this cosmic network. This implies that their magnetic fields and particles could have connected galaxies to each other, influencing their evolution over time.
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