Paper Published in Nature Astronomy
Milestone Expected in Galaxy Evolution Research
Professor Jeffrey Hodgson's research team from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Sejong University has revealed that the direction of jets emitted by supermassive black holes located at the centers of galaxies is deeply related to the shape of the galaxies.
Sejong University announced on the 15th that Professor Hodgson's research was published in the international astronomy journal Nature Astronomy.
Professor Jeffrey Hodgson, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sejong University. Provided by Sejong University.
Professor Hodgson conducted research on quasars, which are massive luminous objects formed by the energy generated as black holes consume surrounding matter. His research team utilized the VLBI observation method, which has the highest spatial resolution. Through this, they statistically confirmed that the direction of quasar jets is aligned with the axis that determines the shape of the host galaxy containing the quasar.
Until now, the academic community has assumed that quasars play an important role in the formation and evolutionary stages of galaxies, but concrete evidence supporting this has been lacking. The light emitted from quasars travels across intergalactic space to reach Earth, so astronomers use it to study the composition and evolutionary processes of matter in intergalactic space.
This research is expected to be a significant milestone in elucidating galaxy formation and evolution. A Sejong University official stated, "Professor Hodgson's team proved that the direction of jets emitted from supermassive black holes, which account for only 0.1% of the total mass of a galaxy, has a strong correlation with the overall shape of the galaxy. This suggests that supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies play an important role in galaxy evolution."
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