The hidden role of black holes!.. A new hypothesis changes our view of the universe

According to the university’s media office, the researchers’ conclusions are highly significant because they improve models of these objects.

It is worth noting that the accretion disks surrounding black holes are hot gas rings called “Torus,” where particles of matter constantly collide, causing their temperature to rise to extreme levels.

A university source said: “The shape of the disk has always been a subject of theoretical physics exercises—from spherical to flat shapes, with convex or concave elements at the upper and lower boundaries. Only now, with the launch of the IXPE polarization device, has it become possible to verify the actual shape of the disk. Comparing theoretical conclusions with real observations showed excellent agreement, thus providing evidence for the flat shape of accretion disks in binary X-ray systems.”

Observations of black holes using the IXPE telescope confirmed scientists’ assumptions that the X-ray radiation from accretion disks is polarized. Its polarization is linear and depends on the optical thickness of the disk as well as its orientation in space.

The source explains: “This confirmed effect will lead to a radical revision of many accretion disk models due to potential contradictions with observational data. This discovery allows confirming the similarity of the geometry of different binary X-ray systems. It will also help better understand the physics of exotic objects like black holes.”

The results of this work were published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.