GCIRS 13E
Encyclopedia
GCIRS 13E is potentially an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH) with a mass of about 1300 solar mass
es orbiting Sagittarius A* at a distance of about three light years. Its orbital velocity is 280 kilometers per second.
GCIRS 13E is associated with a small cluster of seven massive stars orbiting it. It is thought that massive stars cannot form so close to a supermassive black hole and since such massive stars have a short lifespan it is thought that GCIRS 13E must have migrated inward toward the central black hole within the past 10 million years, probably from about 60 light-years further out than its current orbit. The companion stars are possibly the remains of a globular cluster
where a middleweight black hole such as GCIRS 13E could develop through runaway star collisions.
In 2005, however, a German research group claimed that the presence of an IMBH near the galactic center is doubtful. This conclusion is based on a dynamical study of a small star cluster in which should reside the suspected intermediate mass black hole. The debate on the real existence of intermediate mass black holes is still open.
Solar mass
The solar mass , , is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, used to indicate the masses of other stars and galaxies...
es orbiting Sagittarius A* at a distance of about three light years. Its orbital velocity is 280 kilometers per second.
GCIRS 13E is associated with a small cluster of seven massive stars orbiting it. It is thought that massive stars cannot form so close to a supermassive black hole and since such massive stars have a short lifespan it is thought that GCIRS 13E must have migrated inward toward the central black hole within the past 10 million years, probably from about 60 light-years further out than its current orbit. The companion stars are possibly the remains of a globular cluster
Globular cluster
A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes and relatively high stellar densities toward their centers. The name of this category of star cluster is...
where a middleweight black hole such as GCIRS 13E could develop through runaway star collisions.
In 2005, however, a German research group claimed that the presence of an IMBH near the galactic center is doubtful. This conclusion is based on a dynamical study of a small star cluster in which should reside the suspected intermediate mass black hole. The debate on the real existence of intermediate mass black holes is still open.