A team of international researchers has made a groundbreaking discovery near a supermassive black hole, detecting significant X-ray oscillations that could indicate the presence of a nearby stellar-mass orbiter, such as a white dwarf. The team, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), observed the extreme supermassive black hole 1ES 1927+654, which brightened by a factor of 100 at optical wavelengths in 2018. The discovery of millihertz oscillations and their rapid period change has major implications for future efforts to detect multi-messenger signals from supermassive black holes.
Forecast for 6 months: The discovery of X-ray oscillations near a supermassive black hole will likely lead to increased research and monitoring of similar sources, potentially resulting in the detection of more stellar-mass companions.
Forecast for 1 year: Next-generation gravitational wave observatories, such as ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will likely be used to detect gravitational wave signals from supermassive black holes, providing new insights into the behavior of these cosmic phenomena.
Forecast for 5 years: The study of supermassive black holes and their stellar-mass companions will become a major area of research, leading to a better understanding of the extreme physics at play in these environments and potentially revealing new ways to detect and study these cosmic objects.
Forecast for 10 years: The detection of gravitational wave signals from supermassive black holes will become a regular occurrence, providing a new window into the behavior of these cosmic phenomena and potentially leading to a major breakthrough in our understanding of the universe.
