A space mission could clarify ‘poetic’ questions about black holes

Our ongoing studies The latest progress made by Som Bishoy, a student on the team, is based on a set of theoretical and computational models of rapidly rotating black holes. Our findings have not yet been tested in the field or observed in real black holes in space. But we hope that will change soon.

Lisa has the green light

In January 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) officially approved the spacecraft mission. Space antenna laser interferometer, or LISA, for its abbreviation in English. LISA will search for gravitational waves, and mission data could help my team answer our questions about ‘hairy’ black holes.

Formal approval means that the project He has the green light To move into the construction phase, launch is scheduled for 2035. The LISA mission consists of Three spaceships They will be formed into a perfect equilateral triangle that will follow the Earth in its orbit around the Sun 2.5 million kilometers awayThey will exchange laser beams to measure the distance between each other with an accuracy of about a billionth of a centimeter.

LISA will detect gravitational waves from supermassive black holes that are millions or even billions of times larger than our Sun, and will create a map of spacetime around rotating black holes, which will help physicists understand how gravity works in the vicinity of black holes. With an unprecedented level of accuracy. Physicists hope that LISA will also be able to measure any “hairy” features black holes may have.

like LIGO makes new observations Every day, LISA provides a glimpse into the space-time around black holes, and now is one of the most exciting times to be a black hole physicist.