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Just a decade ago we had no way to detect gravitational waves from deep in space, but since it first became possible, scientists have had the opportunity to watch hundreds of them. Each time a new one is detected, observatories around the world are notified so that they can begin watching the skies in the direction it came from, hoping to see some light counterpart.
Recently, a gravitational wave came through that was unique. It looks like it came from something with a much smaller mass than they have ever witnessed before.
Normally, gravitational waves that are strong enough for us to detect are caused by very dense objects such as black holes or neutron stars. On the smallest end, these are 1.4 times more massive than our sun.
The gravitational wave in question, dubbed S251112cm, however, seems like it came from an object that is actually smaller than our sun. If the signal turns out to be real (and there is still a chance that it was a false alarm), it could change the way scientists understand these events. Dr. Christopher Berry from the University of Glasglow talked about this with IFLScience, saying:
“Perhaps some fragmentation during the supernova explosion of the star blasts some materials away or something like that. If we could get a neutron star just below 1 solar mass, that would be really cool because it would tell us something about the astrophysics of neutron stars and potentially something about their formation.”
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The fact that the wave was detectable alone gives scientists some clues since many gravitational waves likely occur that are outside the ability of current instruments to detect. Many astronomers hope to be able to someday build a device on the moon that would provide a much greater range of detection, but for now that is wishful thinking. Dr. Berry went on to say:
“This is the prospect of a primordial black hole. These are black holes formed much earlier in the universe. Basically, you get density fluctuations in the early universe. If those get dense enough, they will collapse down and they can collapse down directly to be a black hole. These primordial black holes have long been theorized in various cosmological models, but we don’t know if they exist.”
Astronomers are actively looking for more information about this event, even though it is indeed possible that it was a false alarm. False alarms for this type of thing are estimated to occur about once in 6.2 years, so they are indeed rare, but they are possible. The fact that this one is so unusual may indicate that it is false, or it could just be something that hasn’t been seen before. Dr. Berry says:
“This candidate that we’re talking about is exciting because it seems to be consistent with having subsolar mass components, assuming the signal is real. We can just say there’s a bit of evidence for there being a signal. But then you’ve got to weigh that against your belief that such things exist potentially. This is an extraordinary claim. And thus you would want extraordinary evidence in order to be convincing.”
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Whatever the case, scientists who work in this field are excited for the possibility of learning about something that has never been seen before.
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