'Mosh Pits' in Star Clusters a Likely Source of LIGO's First Black Holes
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 - 15:41
in Astronomy & Space
Northwestern University astrophysicists have predicted history. They show their theoretical predictions last year were correct: The historic merger of two massive black holes detected Sept. 14, 2015, could easily have been formed through dynamic interactions in the star-dense core of an old globular cluster. These binary black holes are born in the cluster's chaotic "mosh pit," kicked out of the cluster and then eventually merge into one black hole. LIGO's first detection of colliding black holes is perfectly consistent with the Northwestern model.