Since the first direct detection of spacetime ripples, known as gravitational waves, was reported in 2016, astronomers have continued to hear black holes humming across the universe. Projects such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Laboratory (Known as LIGO) found nearly 100 Collisions between black holes (and sometimes neutron stars), which shake the fabric of the universe, sending invisible waves rippling through space.
But new research shows that LIGO may soon hear another kind of shaking in space: cocoons of rolling gas ejected from dying stars. Northwestern University researchers used sophisticated computer simulations of massive stars to show how these cocoons create gravitational waves that are „impossible to ignore,” according to research presented this week at the 242nd meeting. American Astronomical Society. Studying these ripples in real life can provide valuable insight into the violent deaths of giant stars.
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As massive stars run out of fuel, they collapse Black holes, simultaneously expelling large jets of high-speed particles. A team of astronomers simulated these final stages of a star’s life, thinking the jets would lead to gravitational waves — but something else took center stage.
„When I calculated gravitational waves from the vicinity of a black hole, I found another source of disturbance to my calculations – the cocoon”, lead researcher Ore Gottliebsaid an astronomer at the Northwestern Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Research in Astrophysics. Report. A cocoon is a turbulent gas that forms when the outer layers of a collapsing star interact with high-energy jets ejected from within. To create gravitational waves requires something massive moving asymmetric, like a cylindrical object of matter.
„A jet starts deep inside a star and then punches its way to escape,” Gottlieb said. „It’s like drilling a hole in a wall. A rotating drill bit hits the wall and debris is ejected from the wall. The drill bit energizes that material. Similarly, when a jet punches through a star, the star’s material heats up. This debris forms the hot layers of a cocoon.”
According to Gottlieb’s calculations, the ripples created by the cluster should be easily detected by LIGO during its next observations. In addition, the cocoons emit light, so astronomers can get information about them simultaneously with gravitational waves and telescopes—an amazing feat known as multi-messenger astronomy.
If LIGO observes a nest in the future, it could provide an interesting new look at the interiors of stars and the ends of their lives. This is the first time LIGO has detected gravitational waves from an individual object, rather than interactions between two binary objects orbiting each other.
„As of today, LIGO has only detected gravitational waves from binary systems, but one day it will detect the first non-binary source of gravitational waves,” Gottlieb said. „Cocoons are one of the first places we should look for this kind of source.”
The team’s research has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.