An international group of astronomers reported that they observed the possible birth of a black hole. The results of the study were published in Nature and The Astrophysical Journal magazines.
Although it is known that black holes arise as a result of a collapse of a dying star, whose mass is 40-50 times more than the mass of the Sun, the researchers still could not distinguish this process from supernova, leading to the appearance of neutron stars. It is assumed that the occurrence of a black hole may be accompanied by emissions of a substance leaving a collapsing star with high speed (for example, in the form of relativistic jets). Such jets when a substance falling on a black hole should produce a high-energy outbreak.
Researchers believe that the collapse of the stars in a black hole can be responsible for long-term gamma bursts, first discovered in the 1960s. Spags themselves arise due to relativistic jets generated by collapsing stars. However, gamma bursts are accompanied by a long afterglow indicating that most of the star was thrown into space, and not collapsed into a black hole. A more likely explanation of bursts offer models of a super-magnetized neutron star producing their own relativistic jets.
Astronomers doubled the previously unknown type of explosion, which, like gamma bursts, should occur as a result of a collision of a fast moving substance with surrounding space gas. Spectroscopic observations showed that both cases could be associated with Wolf-district stars, which are very massive. The explosions were very short, and scientists were able to exclude the scenario of the usual supernova.
As soon as the collision between the rapid substance and its environment stopped, the source almost disappeared, and not shone for a long time. According to scientists, this is exactly what should be expected from a star collapse, as a result of which only a small amount of material is thrown out, and the rest is absorbed by the black hole.