HYDERABAD: Researchers from the Department of Astronomy, Osmania University (OU), have discovered gigantic cosmic winds travelling at nearly ¼ the speed of light from a distant galaxy’s supermassive black hole. The discovery was made in the active galaxy IRAS F12397+3333 using data from the X-ray observatories XMM-Newton and NuSTAR.
Led by Dr K Sriram, associate professor, the study provides new insight into how powerful winds generated near supermassive black holes influence galaxy evolution and nearby star formation. Researchers said the black hole is rapidly consuming matter, heating surrounding gas intensely and emitting powerful X-rays detectable across millions of light-years.
The study has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. “The discovery offers important insight into how powerful winds generated near supermassive black holes influence the evolution of galaxies and nearby star formation. The black hole at the centre of the galaxy is rapidly consuming matter, causing gas to heat up intensely and emit powerful X-rays detectable across millions of light-years,” explained Dr Sriram.
He added that while analysing the X-ray data, they identified evidence of Ultra-Fast Outflows (UFOs), enormous winds travelling at speeds between 45,000 and 80,000 kilometres per second, nearly 15–30% of the speed of light.
“These are among the most extreme winds ever observed near a black hole, and such outflows carry enormous energy and can dramatically affect their host galaxies,” Dr Sriram said.
The study suggests that these fast-moving winds are crucial for star formation.