Detection of IMBH: Indian astronomers, using the Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), detected and precisely measured the mass of an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole (IMBH) in a faint galaxy 4.3 million light-years away.
IMBH Characteristics: IMBHs are black holes with masses ranging from 100 to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, filling the gap between stellar and supermassive black holes. They are faint and hard to detect.
Mass Measurement: This IMBH has a mass approximately 22,000 times that of the Sun.
Orbiting Gas Clouds: Gas clouds orbit the IMBH at a distance of 2.25 billion km with a velocity dispersion of 545 km/second.
Matter Consumption: The IMBH is consuming matter at only 6% of its maximum theoretical rate.
Telescope (DOT), India’s largest optical telescope, and the 1.3m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) were used.
Technique Applied: Spectrophotometric reverberation mapping was used to measure the delay between light emitted by the black hole’s accretion disk and the surrounding gas clouds.
Significance: This discovery refines our understanding of black hole growth and interaction with surroundings. The study validates the size-luminosity relationship for black holes in low-luminosity active galaxies and provides a more accurate black hole mass estimate.
Future Research: Larger telescopes and advanced instruments are needed to uncover more IMBHs and deepen our understanding of their role in the universe.
