PG 1553+113 is a candidate for a binary SMB. The brightest flare was discovered by a global team of astronomers who studied it for 76 nights. This flare’s analysis revealed this blazer’s main emission mechanism.
Key Highlight:
- PG 1553+113 is a candidate for a binary SMB.
- The brightest flare was spotted by a team of astronomers who studied it for 76 nights straight.
- Astronomers have better understood galaxy mergers in the early universe by studying this flare’s emission mechanism.
- We can use these findings to learn more about galaxy merger in theEarly universe and to look for exciting targets for multi-messengers such as gravity waves.
Because of its quasi-periodic emission of high-energy radiation, the blazar known as PG 1553+113 has piqued the interest of astronomers in recent months. The brightest flare was spotted by a team of astronomers who studied it for 76 nights straight. Astronomers have better understood galaxy mergers in the early universe by studying this flare’s emission mechanism.
Throughout the history of the universe, galaxies have come together. While it is possible to have two black holes in the center of two galaxies, forming a binary supermassive black hole is inevitable. There is currently no way to detect SMBHs using current techniques. Because of this, scientists must use indirect methods to find them. Detecting the source’s periodicity is one of these indirect search methods. Large-sky surveys and long-term monitoring programs have unearthed a few new candidates with quasi-periodic light curve variability. PG 1553+113 is one of them that bursts into action and emits a lot of energy.
Scientists from the Raman Research Institute, an autonomous institute of the Indian government’s Department of Science & Technology (DST), captured this flare using the 1.3 m JC Bhattacharya telescope (JCBT) in Kavalur, India, with collaborators from around the world. Later, they tracked the Blazar with nine telescopes around the world for 76 nights. Blazar PG 1553+113’s flux and spectrum were studied on various timescales by the researchers.
The astronomers calculated the blazar’s perihelion, radius, emission region size, magnetic field strength, and electron energy for the blazar. In addition, they discovered that the accelerated particles cool off by synchrotron radiation (also known as synchrotron cooling) and that this is the dominant emission mechanism for the flares. Astronomy & Astrophysics” journal published the findings.
We can use these findings to learn more about galaxy mergers in the early universe and to look for exciting targets for multi-messengers such as gravity waves that can help us better understand the universe as a whole.
Astronomers from @RRI_Bangalore along with #collaborators studied the blazar called PG 1553+113 for 76 nights at a stretch, spotted its #brightest flare. Analysis of this #flare has helped pave the way towards understanding the process of galaxy mergers in the #early #universe. pic.twitter.com/Wjgew3sHft
— DSTIndia (@IndiaDST) November 10, 2021
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