2025-08-01 Ecns.cn Editor：Mo Honge
(ECNS) — Chinese scientists have discovered that binary black holes may not always be isolated systems. Instead, some may merge near a third, hidden celestial body — possibly a supermassive black hole, offering new insights into how such systems form.
The findings by researchers at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on Friday.
Binary black holes merge near a supermassive black hole. (Photo from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory)
Since the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration has observed more than 100 such events, with the majority stemming from binary black hole mergers.
While these discoveries have advanced people’s understanding of the physical processes involved, the formation and evolution mechanisms of binary black holes remain a topic of ongoing scientific debate.
According to Yang Shucheng, the first author of the study, gravitational wave event GW190814 involved two black holes with a nearly 10:1 mass ratio — an unusual pairing that may suggest a dynamic three-body interaction with a supermassive black hole.
This is the first time that scientists have found clear evidence of a third compact celestial body influencing black holes’ merger, opening a new window into the dynamics of black hole formation and the environments in which these events took place.
(By Gong Weiwei)
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