Lighthouses in the cosmic expanse

In the great spectacle of the universe Blazers It’s really fireworks, because They emit light across the entire electromagnetic spectrumFrom radio waves to high-energy gamma radiation. They are capable of production Photons are a billion times more powerful than X-rays Used for x-rays in hospitals.

Of about 7000 Gamma ray sources Already found, more than half matches Blazers. you Blazers They are therefore central pieces for studying the universe at high energies, and can be used as laboratories to investigate the most extreme phenomena in nature.

But after all, What is the origin of this phenomenon? Very surprising?

A rare phenomenon and a window into the past

In the universe there is black holes They have a mass of more than a billion suns and live in the centers of the largest known galaxies. These are called black holes “super heavy”They are real cosmic factories. While absorbing gas and dust in galaxies, A A disk of material subject to intense frictionwhat will be Extremely hotAnd reaching the plasma state. In fact, this mechanism Converts gravitational energy into light emissionleading to the creation of extremely bright astrophysical objects, quasars.

some Quasars fire particles of particles from areas very close to the black hole. In extreme cases, particles have so much energy that they move at speeds approaching the speed of light. The physical mechanisms that produce these powerful jets remain a mystery. A mystery for modern physicsBut it is thought that they may be related to the intense twisting of the magnetic field caused by the rapid rotation of the plasma around the black hole.

Credits: NASA, ESA, S. Baum and C. O’Dea (RIT), R. Perley and W. Cotton (NRAO/AUI/NSF) and the Hubble Legacy Team (STScI/AURA)

This image, in pink, represents the radio wave emission associated with the Hercules A galaxy superimposed on a visible light image from the same part of the sky. Two beams of material, diametrically opposed to each other and directed towards Earth, are projected from the center of the Milky Way. Jets can have sizes much larger than the size of the galaxy they generate.

Sometimes these currents align directly with the Earth, resulting in a strange and wonderful phenomenon that we are familiar with Blazers. you Blazers she Rare phenomenaBecause it is unlikely that the jets will align perfectly with the Earth. for every Jacket Observed here from Earth, there are thousands of other supermassive black holes producing jets pointed in other directions. you Blazers agreement Only for the planes that hit usAnd it is produced in our air An astonishing astrophysical spectacle.

Some quasars fire particles from very close to the black hole. In extreme cases, particles have so much energy that they move at speeds approaching the speed of light.

Credit: STScI Digital Sky Survey

One of the rare ones Blazers It is marked here with a yellow arrow and is located in a giant elliptical galaxy, visible in the constellation Ursa Major. The two bright light sources in the image are stars in our galaxy.

High gloss Blazers Allow Watch them from great distances. Studying it is like opening a window into the distant past of the universe. They help us understand how galaxies have evolved throughout the history of the universe, and allow us to investigate the role black holes play as they devour matter at the centers of galaxies. (More information on this topic: Active galaxies: where matter encounters cosmic monsters)

The key to the secrets of modern physics

you Blazers It could also be the key to solving some of modern physics’ greatest mysteries, for example The origin of ultra-energetic particles found in so-called cosmic rays, which reaches the ground. The possibility that Blazers Whether they are the source of these mysterious particles is the subject of intensive research. One of the most recent developments concerns the neutrino observatoryice Cubelocated in Antarctica, in Antarctica.

IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

The universe is pervaded by a constant rain of Subatomic particles known as NeutrinosThese are particularly difficult to detect because they have little interaction with matter. Using IceCube we were able to detect high-energy neutrinos. One of the questions we try to answer through this observatory is: “What powerful cosmic processes could produce this?” you Blazers They seem like natural candidates to answer this question. Thanks to the powerful, high-energy beam aimed directly at us Blazers It has the ability to produce particles that reach incredible energy levels.

Recent work published in the journal Sciences Made The relationship between neutrinos and Jacket TX0506+056This is a fact that has had a great impact on the community of scientists in the field of particle physics, or more specifically, in the field of physics. Astronomical particles. This relationship suggests that jets of particles launched from black holes at extreme speeds also… Protons, next to electronswhich was already taken for granted with these aircraft.

This discovery is considered historic. It saves First evidence of a concrete origin for high-energy neutrinos,It also strengthens the connection ,previously assumed ,between Blazers And stellar particles with very high energy.

Headlights in the dark… and how they get us home

Quasars and Blazers They are the true titans of the universe, with a show Energy and lightWhat challenges our imagination, beyond our daily experience.

Its scientific importance goes beyond mere observation. As we have seen, their high-energy emissions shed light on the most mysterious and powerful processes in the universe, forming… Central topics of study in modern physics.

Credits: IA (composite image)/NASA/JPL-Caltech (original images)

A diagram showing how only when the disk of matter surrounding a black hole is pointed toward Earth is intense light from the plasma at its center visible as a quasar.

How important Blazers And quasars for life on Earth? In fact It affects us directly. Its extremely remote location and precise brightness make it an absolute reference in space and are used in various applications such as Measuring the movements of the Earth’s tectonic platesIt is useful for future earthquake predictions and GPS satellite navigation.

you Satellites That forms the Global Geolocation Network, or so-called Global positioning systemIt uses quasars to determine its location in space relative to Earth. So the light emitted billions of years ago helps us travel and find our paths.

These resources indeed bring us home and are a humbling reminder of how deeply connected we, as modern technological beings, are to the universe around us.

Its extremely remote location and precise brightness make it an absolute reference in space, where it is used in a variety of applications, such as measuring tectonic movements or satellite navigation.

About the author

Bruno Arseoli, researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (Amnesty International (Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon) Science ULisboa). His research involves analyzing emissions in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum to reveal the physical processes taking place in the most energetic objects in the universe.

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