Astronomers have discovered a “daredevil” white dwarf star that may be the closest known object to a supermassive black hole, 1ES 1927+654. The MIT team used the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope to witness this phenomenon, which suggests that objects like white dwarfs can live very close to an event horizon for an extended period.
The white dwarf is orbiting around the supermassive black hole, causing it to emit gravitational waves and increasing the frequency of high-energy light bursts. This behavior is unprecedented for a black hole, with the rate of X-ray emissions accelerating from once every 18 minutes to once every 7 minutes over two years.
The team believes that the white dwarf’s orbiting motion may be the cause of this strange behavior, with some theorizing that it could be detected using ripples in space and time called gravitational waves. If confirmed, this would provide new insights into the dynamics of black holes and their interactions with nearby objects.
The researchers have two main theories to explain the white dwarf’s behavior: one related to the black hole’s corona and another involving a tightrope-walking white dwarf. In the latter scenario, the dead star is emitting gravitational waves as it swirls around 1ES 1927+654, causing it to move faster and increasing the frequency of X-ray emissions.
The team will continue observing 1ES 1927+654 using increasingly sophisticated telescopes, including the LISA mission set to launch in the 2030s. This could provide further evidence for the white dwarf’s existence and shed new light on its behavior around the supermassive black hole.
Source: https://www.space.com/dead-star-edge-supermassive-black-hole-mystery-x-rays