1st triple black hole system discovered in 'happy accident

[Admin]

The first "black hole triple" system, consisting of a black hole hungrily feeding on a companion star orbited by a more distant star, hints at a gentle formation process without supernova explosions.

1st triple black hole system discovered in 'happy accident : Read more

 

[Galumph]

Makes me wonder if some of the accreted matter gets recycled in the black holes' astrophysical jets. That is, I wonder if there's enough energy in those jets to create hydrogen atoms, which in turn form stars. We see the gamma-ray signature of electron-positron annihilation in these astrophysical jets, and we know pair production can occur in such extreme environments. Just a thought.

 

[billslugg]

The energy in a positron-electron annihilation is 1.022 MeV. The energy needed to make a proton is a thousand times higher, around 1 GeV which is 1E9 eV. Earth's atmosphere gets hit by particles of energy 1E20. So, yes, there would seem to be the ability in a BH jet to make hydrogen.