3D simulation reveals how space-time warps during black hole collision

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University of Illinois scientists create first 3D simulation of black holes
It shows what happens when two supermassive black holes collide
Material swirls around the objects and jets fire out from the poles
Comes after two black holes found to be seven years from merging

By Jonathan O'Callaghan for MailOnline

Published: 11:27 EST, 22 April 2015 | Updated: 12:09 EST, 22 April 2015

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A first-of-its-kind 3D simulation has revealed what happens when two supermassive black holes dramatically collide.

The video swoops around the disc of superheated material known as a quasar surrounding the black hole, showing how it takes shape.

And the simulation is particularly interesting, because recent observations show two such black holes are going to collide in just seven years - so the prediction can be tested in real life.

Scroll down for video

University of Illinois scientists have created the first 3D simulation of merging black holes (shown). It shows what happens when two supermassive black holes collide

The simulation was created by Dr Stuart Shapiro of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his colleagues.

To make the simulation, researchers used Einstein’s general theory of relativity coupled with equations that govern how matter moves near the speed of light in a magnetic field.

In the simulations, the processes taking place as the two black holes merge is shown.

As they come closer, the magnetic field lines around the two become erratic, while the jets firing out from the ‘poles’ of each object merge into one.

Gravitational waves - ripples in space-time caused by such an event - are also predicted to be created by the merge, while electromagnetic is blasted into space.

Once merged, the material around the black holes continues to swirly intensely.

Known as a quasar, this is a region of superheated dust and gas that surrounds supermassive black holes.

They are extremely bright and power the centre of galaxies. At the centre of our Milky Way, for example, a bright quasar surrounding the supermassive black hole is visible.

3D simulation of colliding black holes is most realistic yet

This first simulation shows the processes taking place as two supermassive black holes collide

Simulation of gravitational waves generated by black hole merger

This second simulation shows another simulation of material moving around two merging black holes

Material swirls around the objects in a quasar and jets fire out from the poles in the merger. It comes after two black holes were found to be seven years from merging

The simulation takes on added significance because, just the other day, it was revealed that two black holes 10.4 billion light years away are likely to collide in seven years.

The discovery was made using data from the Pan-Starrs telescope in Hawaii.

Each of the black holes found inside the quasar PSO J334.2028+01.4075 has the mass of ten billion suns, and this simulation could provide an insight into what will happen if - or when - they merge.

‘As a technical achievement, there’s no doubt that this [simulation] is a giant step forward,’ Dr Cole Miller of the University of Maryland in College Park, who was not involved in the study, told Nature News.

‘This merger would be amazing, if we saw it.’

BLACK HOLES CAUSE BLASTS IN THE CORES OF GALAXIES

Supermassive black holes at the centre of large galaxies could be powering blasts from deep inside the galaxy's core, astronomers have claimed.

Astronomers have sought the driving force behind these massive molecular outflows for years, but now a team of University of Maryland scientists has found an answer.

The huge outpourings of material are responsible for ejecting enough dust and gas to build more than a thousand stars the size of our sun every year.

And these outflows could also remove huge quantities of star-making gas, dictating the size, shape and overall fate of galaxies.

Gravitational waves - ripples in space-time caused by such an event – are also predicted to be created by the merge (illustrated), while electromagnetic is blasted into space

However, astronomers note that it is not a certainty the observed quasar has two colliding black holes inside it.

The evidence so far comes from fluctuations in the quasar’s light - but this could just be due to a single black hole and a disc, rather than an orbiting partner.

Nonetheless, astronomers will be keen to observe it in further detail in case their predictions turn out to be correct.

And if so, it could also provide a rare opportunity to observe gravitational waves - ripples in space time that occur during such a massive event like this.