They are powerful source of cosmic rays in the center of the Milky Way – El Universal

An international research team found the first evidence of the existence of an extreme source of cosmic rays in the center of the Milky Way , reported Thursday academic sources.

“This research provides strong evidence that the black hole in the heart of the Milky Way plays an important role,” said the Australian astrophysicist Gavin Rowell, in a press University of Adelaide.

the study of telescopes Stereoscopic System high energy (HESS) in Namibia, revealed the presence of a powerful gamma ray source of very high energy.

gamma rays act as a kind of markers of cosmic rays and occur when the latter collide and interact with gases that surround them.

cosmic rays are particles of extremely high energy protons and atomic nuclei that fall on Earth the outer space and whose origins have been the subject of lengthy debate.

“the most plausible ‘engine’ of this acceleration of cosmic rays is the supermassive black hole that is right in the center of our galaxy,” Rowell said commenting on the results of this research published in the journal Nature .

the central region of the Milky Way harbors a massive black hole of more than 4 million solar masses and whose gravity dominates the movement of the stars and surrounding gases.

This area is also characterized by being extremely active in the formation of large stars, which in turn lead to the creation of supernova remnants and pulsars , which makes it one of the most attractive regions for astronomers as the HESS study bright objects.

“the most surprising thing is that the properties of the emission of gamma rays tell us that come from a source of cosmic rays with energies that are a hundred times higher than the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, “said Rowell, referring to the largest particle accelerator in the world.

scientists believe that the most likely cause of the acceleration of cosmic rays is the gravitational force and the violent activity of the supermassive black hole, which probably had more activity in the past and could be responsible for most of the high cosmic energy of our galaxy.

the team HESS who participated in this research consists of scientists from Germany, France, United Kingdom, Namibia, South Africa, Ireland, Armenia, Poland, Australia, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden.

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