Gamma rays emanating from ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) from several nearby galaxies have been detected for the first time. Astronomers from Clemson University, College of Charleston, and the University of Chicago said that this discovery could shed light on how Milky Way acted during its younger years.
Daily Mail reported the team used data from the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope of NASA and a stacking technique to find gamma rays from UFOs, which are powerful winds that come from supermassive black holes. Not to be confused with extraterrestrials, UFOs determine how large the black hole could grow and its host galaxy.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powerful flashes of energetic gamma rays lasting less than a second to several minutes. They release a tremendous amount of energy in this short time, making them the most powerful events in the Universe.
Detecting Gamma Rays From UFOs
In their study, titled "Gamma Rays From Fast Black-Hole Winds," published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers outlined the detection of gamma-ray emission from UFOs launched by supermassive black holes.
Study lead author Chris Kwan said that these winds are hard to detect. But they are known to play a key role in how massive black holes and the host galaxy can grow. He added that their gamma-ray observations suggest supermassive black holes can transfer a large amount of energy to their host galaxy.
Each galaxy in the universe has supermassive black holes at its center. In the Milky Way, it has Sagittarius A* that scientists say must be active in the past despite not being active today, sucking up their surrounding celestial object around and eating their matter in a process called accretion.
The role of UFOs is to move gas overtime throughout the galaxies. The authors wrote that this changes the relationship between the velocity of dispersion in galactic bulges and the masses of central black holes.
Study co-author Marco Allejo added that the effect of UFOs on the galaxy is dramatic, which explains the mechanism of how black holes and galaxies grow together in a mass.
Karwin explained that it is likely that the UFOs can energize particles between galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays, given that they emit gamma rays.
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Findings Could Help Scientists Understand Milky Way
As Science Daily reported, the study's findings could help scientists understand what happened to the Milky Way during its early days. Astronomers have previously identified Fermi bubbles as the enormous round structures of hot gas emanating from the galactic center that extends above and below the Milky Way's disc.
They explained that these hot gas structures are called Fermi bubbles because the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope discovered them in 2010. The researchers have used the data coming from the telescope for their study.
Karwin said that their model supports the hypothesis that Fermi bubbles may be remnants of the past UFO-like activity from Sagittarius A*, which they believe was active in the past.
Researchers added that further research is needed to confirm their hypothesis. Ajello said their next mission is to study galaxies that have had UFO winds that traveled outside the galaxy for millions of years.
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