Using the W. M. Keck Observatory astronomers in Hawaiʻi discovered the largest stream of superheated gas from a nearby galaxy, showing a supermassive black hole can affect its galaxy far beyond the core.
The discovery highlights galaxy VV 340a, where massive gas streams extend up to 20,000 light-years—farther than ever recorded. The study, led by UC Irvine and Caltech/IPAC, is published in Science.
KCWI Maps Black Hole’s Far-Reaching Gas
Using the Keck Cosmic Web Imager on Keck II, scientists traced cooler gas extending beyond the galaxy’s disk, forming a spear-like structure that records prolonged activity from its central supermassive black hole.
“The Keck data let us see the full scale of this phenomenon,” said lead author Justin Kader, UC Irvine. “The gas we observe reaches the farthest distances from the black hole, revealing the longest timescales. Without these observations, we couldn’t measure how powerful or persistent this outflow truly is.”
KCWI data were key to measuring the expelled material and its impact on the galaxy’s evolution. The team confirmed that it indeed can.
Multi-Telescope Observations Paint Complete Picture of Galaxy
Researchers combined Keck optical data, Webb infrared observations, and Karl G. Jansky radio images. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to create a comprehensive view of the galaxy.
At VV 340a’s core, Webb detected highly energized coronal gas erupting from the black hole. Unlike typical coronal gas, it stretches thousands of parsecs, the largest ever observed.
VLA radio images revealed a pair of plasma jets from the black hole twisting into an S-shaped, helical pattern, a sign of jet precession, where a jet gradually wobbles over time.
“This is the first time we’ve observed a precessing, kiloparsec-scale radio jet driving such a massive outflow in a disk galaxy,” said Kader.
Jets Drive Gas Outflow, Suppressing Star Formation
Webb’s infrared data revealed the energetic core, while Keck showed it drives gas outward, expelling material at a rate equal to forming 20 suns per year and suppressing star formation.
Perhaps most striking is the location of this activity. Powerful precessing jets typically occur in old elliptical galaxies, not in young, merging spirals like VV 340a.
This finding challenges long-held ideas about the co-evolution of galaxies and their central black holes and suggests that similar events might even happen in galaxies like the Milky Way.
“There’s no clear evidence of anything like this in our galaxy, but this discovery shows we can’t rule it out,” said Kader. “It changes how we view the galaxy we live in.”
The team aims to conduct deeper, higher-resolution radio observations to see if a second supermassive black hole might be causing the jet’s wobble, potentially revealing a binary black hole system.
“We’re just beginning to see how common this activity is,” said Vivian U, Caltech/IPAC. “Keck and other instruments are opening a new window on galaxy evolution.”
Read the original article on: Phys.org
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