Astronomers of Texas University found an unusually massive black hole in the center of one of the dwarf galaxies-satellites of the Milky Way, called Lvom I. Its mass is comparable to the black hole in the center of the Milky Way, which can change the submission of scientists about the evolution of galaxies and their nuclei. The results of the study are presented in the article published in The Astrophysical Journal magazine.
Unlike most dwarf galaxies, adjacent to the Milky Path, Lion I does not contain a large amount of dark matter. Astronomers measured her by assessing the speed of the movement of stars located at different distances from the center: the faster the stars move, the more dark matter is on their orbits. This allowed to build a dark matter profile in the galaxy, that is, quantity depending on the distance from the center.
The simulation results showed that with a small amount of dark matter, the stars behave as if in the center of Leo I are a giant black hole. There is no explanation at the moment why the black hole is such a mass in a small galaxy. However, scientists suggest that the growth of such an object occurs due to the interaction of dwarf galaxies with larger galaxies, resulting in smaller black holes merge with large.