Gravitational Lensing Unveils Ultra Massive Black Holes #shorts

Astronomers study supermassive black holes by mapping the orbits of stars in nearby galaxies, identifying peaks in stellar velocities near the galactic center caused by the black hole's intense gravitational force. In more distant galaxies, active supermassive black holes emit bright emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum due to fast-moving surrounding material.

To determine black hole mass, astronomers study relativistic effects on emissions from active black holes. Generally, larger galaxies tend to have more massive black holes, including ultramassive black holes in the most massive galaxies.

However, measuring the largest black holes in galaxies far from the Milky Way is challenging, as their stars' orbits can't be resolved, and their black holes are often inactive.

Gravitational lensing is a valuable tool in this context, where a massive galaxy's gravity curves spacetime, bending light from a background galaxy and magnifying it. In the case of Abell 1201, a small portion of light passes close to the central core, affected by the supermassive black hole's gravity.

Through extensive numerical analysis and simulations, the researcher identified an ultramassive black hole approximately 33 billion times the mass of the Sun in Abell 1201. This discovery, the first black hole found via gravitational lensing, is one of the largest ever detected.

The researcher continues their search for gravitational lensing around the most massive galaxies in the Universe to reveal the masses of their central supermassive black holes. This work aims to answer the question of just how enormous black holes can be in the Universe.

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