Using the Very Large Array, a team of astronomers has found that supermassive black holes do not simply swallow a star and go silent. Instead, many of these cosmic giants emit powerful radio flares months or even years after the initial stellar disruption—a phenomenon the researchers describe as a "burp."
These delayed outbursts occur as the black hole flings part of its stellar meal back into space, producing streams of radio light that can be tracked over time. The discovery came from monitoring dozens of tidal disruption events—moments when a star strays too close to a black hole and is torn apart in a brief, brilliant flare.
The observations allow scientists to watch a black hole's appetite change in real time, revealing that even the quietest-seeming supermassive black holes are messier and more active than previously understood. The findings challenge the long-held assumption that once a star is tidally disrupted, the event ends abruptly.
One counterargument is that these delayed flares could instead result from interactions between debris from the stellar disruption and the black hole's surrounding environment, rather than from the black hole itself expelling material. Further observations are needed to confirm the burping mechanism.
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