The origin of “ghost particles” is found: the tiny objects that pass through our bodies and planets undetected are emitted from galactic nuclei fueled by supermassive black holes in deep space.
- “Ghost particles,” or neutrinos, are particles that come from deep space
- These particles have no mass and barely interact with matter
- Scientists believe they originate from galactic nuclei fueled by supermassive black holes
- Blazars are known to emit bright rays and wind and are speculated to also produce cosmic rays
By Stacy Liberatore for Dailymail.com
Published: 19:04, 25 July 2022 | Updated: 19:51, July 25, 2022
Deep space “ghost particles” likely originate from galactic nuclei fueled by supermassive black holes, according to a new study that could unravel the mystery of these subatomic particles that formed before the universe.
Ghost particles, or neutrinos, have puzzled scientists since they were first discovered in 1956 because they have no mass and barely interact with matter.
These tiny particles have no electrical charge and travel through the universe almost unaffected by objects or natural forces, but they are the second most common particles on Earth after photons.
Galactic nuclei, known as blazars, are galaxies with colossal black holes at their center and are located with their jets pointed directly at Earth.
A team of researchers led by the University of Würzburg determined the origin of the ghost particles by cross-referencing data from the paths of the particles and the location of the University of Würzburg in the universe.
And they found that 10 of the 19 neutrino hotspots were from blazars.
The mission to unravel the mystery of ghost particles is vital because it will allow us to better understand how matter evolved from simple particles to the complex particles that created everything around us.
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Artist’s impression of the active galactic nucleus where the ghost-like subatomic particle likely originated
At the center of most galaxies, including our own, is a supermassive black hole that creates a disk of gas, dust, and stellar debris around it.
As material from the disc falls towards the black hole, its gravitational energy can be transformed into light, making the centers of these galaxies very bright and giving rise to what are called active galactic nuclei (AGN).
When a galaxy is located so that its jets point towards Earth it is called a blazar and this is the theory behind what produces ghost particles.
This conclusion was determined by researchers who collected data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, which is the most sensitive neutrino detector on Earth, from 2008 and 2015.
The study determined that the ghost particles come from the blazar by collecting particle data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica (pictured)
It was then cross-referenced with BZCat, a catalog of more than 3,500 objects that are likely blazars.
The results showed that 10 of IceCube’s 19 hotspots located in the southern sky likely originate from blazars.
Dr Andrea Tramacere, researcher at the University of Geneva’s Department of Astronomy, said in a statement: “The discovery of these high-energy neutrino factories represents an important milestone for astrophysics.
“It places us a step forward in solving the century-old mystery of the origin of cosmic rays.”
Scientists have been trying to study elusive particles since they were first predicted by Wolfgang Pauli in 1931.
Many believe they may hold the key to understanding parts of the universe that otherwise remain hidden from our view, such as dark matter and dark energy.
The high-energy neutrino was first detected on September 22, 2017 by the IceCube observatory, a huge facility sunk a mile below the South Pole.
Here, a grid of more than 5,000 supersensitive sensors picked up the characteristic blue “Cherenkov” light emitted when the neutrino interacted with the ice.
The neutrino is thought to have been created by high-energy cosmic rays from the jets interacting with nearby material.
Professor Paul O’Brien, a member of the international team of astronomers at the University of Leicester, said: “Neutrinos rarely interact with matter.
“To detect them from the cosmos is surprising, but to have a possible source identified is a triumph.
“This result will allow us to study the most distant and powerful energy sources in the universe in a completely new way.”