Twisted magnetic fields in space sculpt the jets of black holes and baby stars

[Admin]

By studying the fastest jet ever seen erupting from an infant star, astronomers have discovered that the mechanism that launches these jets also launch supermassive black hole jets.

Twisted magnetic fields in space sculpt the jets of black holes and baby stars : Read more

 

[Aplu]

Dejavu all over again! I read the article "Jets From Black Holes Cause Stars to Explode, Hubble Reveals" on Gizmodo late last year, and thought, magnetic fields would have something to do with that, particularly as they would become braided or twisted along those relativistic jets and would play merry havoc with star's magnetic fields as they progressed through space.

It's nice having random thoughts proved right! Of course the magnetic fields would be helical - conservation of momentum isn't abrogated just because the cause of the jet is a protostar or black hole. Unless the jet is forced into a width of an electron wide, the angular momentum's still going to be there. It's just going to be spaced out over millions of kilometres instead of neatly tied into a tight orbit.