Hidden behind the curtains of cosmic dust, some of the most dramatic events in the universe are invisible. so far.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers stare at dusty galaxies to capture super-large black holes to tear apart the huge flash of stars, known as tidal destruction events. These brief bursts escape detection by traditional telescopes, but new infrared data confirm that even dormant black holes can wake up and attend a star feast.
JWST reveals which lady optical telescopes
Tide damage events, or TDE, occur when a star hovers around the black hole in the central galaxy and is shattered by strong gravity. The violent encounter released a burst of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. However, if many of these events occur in a dusty environment that absorbs optical and X-ray light, it will not attract attention.
“These are the first observations of tidal destruction events by JWST, which look different from the perspectives we have seen before,” said Megan Masterson, a graduate student lead author at the MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Studies.
Instead of looking for visible light, the researchers used JWST’s infrared sensitivity to detect the afterglow of the heated dust. Among the four nearby galaxies, the team found clear signs of black hole accumulation: destroyed stars spirals into the mastery of the black hole.
How can you say a black hole is eating?
When black hole consumption is important, they don’t do it quietly. The indoor debris emits such a powerful radiation that it strips electrons from the atoms, allowing different infrared “fingerprints” to be visible to JWST. The team looked for the markers in four galaxies that previously showed a brief infrared flash.
- All four galaxies exhibit spectral lines caused by ionizing neon lights, a sign of black hole accumulation
- Silicate dust emissions around 10 and 18 microns are significantly stronger than dust emissions in active galactic cores (AGNs).
- Black holes are usually inactive, but suddenly burst into life, consistent with TDE
“There is no other gas in the universe that can excite these gases except for the accumulation of black holes,” Masterson explained.
Dormant black hole, sudden violence
Active galaxies often show ongoing accumulation, with dust forming thick donuts around black holes. These four galaxies look different. The dust pattern is irregular and optically thin, which means the central black hole is usually dormant. Everyone wakes up temporarily when every unfortunate star drifts too close.
Infrared signatures confirm that these signatures are not supernova or regular AGN flares. They are real tidal destruction events, triggered by a quiet black hole, roaring briefly.
Why is this important for black hole science?
Until recently, TDE was still observed in “clean” galaxies with small amounts of gas or dust. This means astronomers lack a large portion of these events, especially in messy star-shaped galaxies. JWST research shows that there may be more hidden TDEs throughout the universe.
Understanding these hidden flares can help solve long-standing puzzles. For example, how will a black hole grow if it is not active most of the time? How much energy do they release when they feed? What happens to the dust and gas around you after a star is swallowed up?
“The actual process of black holes takes a long time to swallow all the stellar material,” Masterson noted. “Hopefully we can start to explore how long the process takes and how the environment looks like.”
Outlook: Catching black holes in performance
The team plans to use JWST and NASA’s Neowise telescope to discover more of these elusive events. With upcoming missions like the Roman Space Telescope and Spherex, astronomers hope to discover TDE earlier and discover at better resolution, revealing not only the fireworks but the long cooling embers that followed.
These observations helped astronomers map the hidden life of black holes and understand how much energy was released in the brief attacks of cosmic slaughter. The discovery highlights how JWST changes our ability to see the universe, not only in terms of beauty, but also in terms of black hole physics.
Magazine: Astrophysical Diary LetterVolume 988, No. 2
doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ade153
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