A team of researchers from Manitoba played a role in an international project that recently uncovered the merging of two massive black holes billions of light years away from Earth. Dr. Samar Safi-Harb, an astrophysicist at the University of Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in Extreme Astrophysics, and her colleagues are part of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA program. The program announced the discovery of the “most massive binary black hole detected to date.”
The black holes involved in this event were spinning at an astonishing speed close to the theoretical maximum when they collided, as revealed by the November 2023 detection. Although Safi-Harb’s team was not directly involved in this particular detection, they are part of the global community of researchers contributing to the LIGO project.
Among the team members are postdoctoral fellow Nathan Steinle, who specializes in gravitational wave astrophysics, and Labani Mallick, who focuses on electromagnetic observations of black holes. Safi-Harb’s PhD student, Neil Doerksen, is dedicated to enhancing the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors through a LIGO fellowship.
The team’s research focuses on extreme phenomena in astrophysical systems, such as extreme temperatures, gravity, and magnetic fields associated with stellar deaths. These events play a crucial role in the creation of heavy elements in the universe, like the materials found in everyday objects.
The detection of black hole collisions requires specialized tools like the LIGO observatory, which detects gravitational waves predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity. Through LIGO, scientists have observed over 300 black hole collisions, with the latest being the most massive yet, named GW231123.
The newly discovered black holes had masses significantly larger than the sun, resulting in a merged product with a mass equivalent to 225 suns. This falls within the category of intermediate mass black holes, which lie between stellar mass and supermassive black holes.
The discovery challenges conventional theories of black hole formation, suggesting that smaller black holes may merge to create larger ones. Safi-Harb emphasizes the importance of understanding these origins to comprehend the universe’s evolution.
In conclusion, the Manitoba research team’s contributions to the study of black hole mergers shed light on the fascinating and complex processes occurring in the vast expanse of space.
For more articles, visit CBC Manitoba.