Black holes are an interesting topic of discussion for astronomy enthusiasts globally. Despite decades of search and study, there’s still a lot of mystery about the functionality of black holes.
A new revelation by a team of German researchers came up with a new question about the mysterious holes in outer space.
A report publish in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society claims that black holes are capable of forging heavier metallic elements like gold and silver in them.
To reach a conclusion that the black hole had the ability to give the require extreme condition to create elements like gold, the scientists compare the black hole condition to other cosmic conditions like neutron star collisions, reported Science Alert.
Working with experts from Japan and Belgium, the research team perform computer simulations to show the synthesis of heavy elements in black holes.
The focus remain on showing the creation of the metals in newborn black holes especially the ones that are orbited by an accretion disk of hot, dense matter.
These disks facilitate the formation of excess neutrons which accelerate the conversion of protons to neutrons.
Researchers note that the presence of neutrons in high numbers was the basic requirement of the synthesis of heavy elements
The black holes swallow dust and gas from the surroundings and turn into chemical elements
Dr Oliver Just, a member of the research team, said that the study systematically studied the conversion rate of neutrons and protons and discover that the disks of the black holes remain rich in neutron till the require condition was there.
Also He adds that the most important thing for the creation of elements in a black hole is the total mass of the disk.
A larger disk will mean more neutrons are form from protons through the capture of electrons under the emission of neutrinos and are available for the synthesis of heavy elements by means of the r-process.
But in case the disk’s mass is too high, the inverse reaction plays an increased role so that more neutrinos are recapture by neutrons before they leave the disk.
These neutrons are then convert back to protons.
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