Understanding Quasar Tsunamis

The Hubble Space Telescope has made a groundbreaking discovery: quasar tsunamis, which represent the most powerful energy outflows ever identified in the cosmos. These colossal bursts of energy not only shake the foundations of galaxies harboring these enigmatic entities but also significantly influence the evolution of their stellar populations.

Quasars are the luminous cores of galaxies, powered by supermassive black holes that consume vast amounts of gas, stars, and planets. Remarkably, these quasars can emit energy that is a thousand times greater than the total energy output of the entire galaxies that contain them.

Dr. Nahum Arav, a physicist at Virginia Tech and the lead researcher on this study, will share insights on this topic in an upcoming episode of the Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion podcast on April 21. Don't miss it!

Quasar winds propel enormous amounts of material away from the core of an energetic supermassive black hole, as illustrated in this artist’s conception. These winds accelerate gas and dust to speeds nearing a few percent of the speed of light, effectively clearing out material that could otherwise collapse into new stars. This process is now understood to be more prevalent than previously thought, thereby impacting star formation across entire galaxies.

“These outflows are essential for understanding how galaxies form. They are pushing hundreds of solar masses of material annually, and the mechanical energy they carry exceeds the total luminosity of the Milky Way by several hundred times,” explained Nahum Arav.

As these outflows collide with interstellar material, they heat it to millions of degrees, illuminating the galaxy in X-rays. This release of energy creates a stunning display for any observer capable of witnessing it.

“You’d first experience a surge of radiation in X-rays and gamma rays, which would later transition to visible and infrared light, resulting in a spectacular light show akin to Christmas trees scattered throughout the galaxy,” Arav elaborated.

The Implications of Quasar Outflows

“I saw the whole universe laid out before me, a vast shining machine of indescribable beauty and complexity. Its design was too intricate for me to understand, and I knew I could never begin to grasp more than the smallest idea of its purpose. But I sensed that every part of it, from quark to quasar, was unique and — in some mysterious way — significant.”

— R. J. Anderson

This research may provide answers to several enduring mysteries in astronomy and cosmology, such as the correlation between galaxy size and the mass of the supermassive black holes at their centers. It might also shed light on the scarcity of massive galaxies observed throughout the universe.

“The scientific community has long suspected the existence of a physical process that inhibits star formation in massive galaxies, but its nature has remained elusive. Incorporating these observed outflows into our simulations addresses these long-standing questions in galactic evolution,” remarked Jeremiah Ostriker, a cosmologist at Columbia and Princeton universities, who was not involved in this study.

The Hubble Space Telescope's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) was instrumental in studying these outflows, as it is the only tool capable of conducting the necessary ultraviolet observations.

A notable outflow observed in this study increased its speed from 69 million kilometers per hour (43 million miles per hour) to 74 million kilometers per hour (46 million miles per hour) over three years. Models indicate that such outflows were likely common in the early universe. Researchers believe this material will continue to gain speed for the foreseeable future.

Findings from this analysis were published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements.

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