An international group of astrophysicists from MIT and CALTECH recently made a groundbreaking discovery in a star system located 8,000 light years away. In a rare phenomenon, scientists detected a black hole accompanied by two companion stars simultaneously (source).
Originally thought to be a typical black hole with one companion star, the object known as V404 CYGNI turned out to be much more complex upon closer inspection. The first star completes a full orbit around the black hole every 6.5 days, while the second star follows an extremely unusual orbit taking 70,000 years to make one revolution.
This discovery challenges the classical theory of black hole formation, which suggests they are the result of powerful supernovae explosions of dying stars. The presence of a distant companion star raises doubts about this theory.
MIT physicist Kevin Burge explained the paradox by comparing it to launching a fragile web instead of a strong rope. Any sharp impact could break the gravitational connection between the objects in the system, similar to how the web would tear if pulled too much.
Researchers propose that V404 CYGNI formed through a “direct collapse” process, where the star collapses inward without an explosion, allowing it to maintain gravitational connections with distant objects. If a supernova had occurred, the energy would have ejected the distant star from the system.
The discovery of the two companion stars was accidental, occurring during a routine observation of the Milky Way using the online tool Aladin Lite, which provides access to astronomical observation archives from various telescopes. While V404 Cygni has been observed for many years, the presence of the second satellite was only recently detected as an additional light spot in the images.
This finding has potential implications for our understanding of star evolution and black hole formation. The prevalence of “direct collapse” scenarios may be more common than previously believed, necessitating a reevaluation of current theories.