Hypervelocity stars (HVS) are stars that travel incredibly fast, sometimes even fast enough to escape our galaxy. These stars are thought to be the result of various events such as galactic or black hole mergers, and globular cluster members drifting out of place. Events such as stars going supernova also occur.
Tracking these stars has been made possible using state-of-the-art astrometry missions such as ESA’s Gaia Observatory. In a recent study from Leiden University, Ph.D. candidate Fraser Evans used data from the Gaia Observatory to conduct computer simulations.
Computer simulation methods have helped to better understand where HVS originate and the process by which they achieve incredible speed. Evans found that most HVS studied so far originate near the center of the Milky Way, where the number of stars is very high.
Many of these stars are gravitationally bound by the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Vance was able to discover fast-moving stars that originated in globular clusters and the Magellanic Clouds.
HVS can provide insight into the most mysterious objects in our universe, including supermassive black holes and supernovae of massive stars. By studying HVS, scientists can learn more about the properties of black holes and supernovae. Black holes are difficult to observe directly.
HVS originating near the center of our galaxy are believed to be ejected by the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. By studying the trajectory of these stars, scientists can learn about the black hole’s properties, such as its mass and rotation. We know very little about the universe and there is still much to discover.