Super-bright stellar explosion is likely a dying star giving birth to a black hole or neutron star
The discovery, based on an unusual event dubbed “the Cow,” may offer astronomers a new way to spot infant compact objects.
Neutron star collisions are a “goldmine” of heavy elements, study finds
Mergers between two neutron stars have produced more heavy elements in last 2.5 billion years than mergers between neutron stars and black holes.
Physicists observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole theorem for the first time
Study offers evidence, based on gravitational waves, to show that the total area of a black hole’s event horizon can never decrease.
LIGO and Virgo detect rare mergers of black holes with neutron stars for the first time
In a 3Q, Salvatore Vitale describes how gravitational-wave signals suggest black holes completely devoured their companion neutron stars.
Four MIT faculty members receive 2021 US Department of Energy early career awards
Faculty from the departments of Physics and of Nuclear Science and Engineering faculty were selected for the Early Career Research Program.
Supermassive black holes devour gas just like their petite counterparts
Regardless of size, all black holes experience similar accretion cycles, a new study finds.
Spencer Compton, Karna Morey, Tara Venkatadri, and Lily Zhang named 2021-22 Goldwater Scholars
Four MIT undergraduates whose research areas explore artificial intelligence, space, and climate change honored for their academic achievements.
Fast-spinning black holes narrow the search for dark matter particles
Certain ultralight bosons would be expected to put the brakes on black holes, but new results show no such slowdown.
Astronomers image magnetic fields at the edge of M87’s black hole
New image of M87 reveals how it looks in polarized light.
A technique to sift out the universe’s first gravitational waves
Identifying primordial ripples would be key to understanding the conditions of the early universe.
3 Questions: Hsin-Yu Chen on treading lightly when dating the universe
MIT postdoc finds the angle at which we view neutron star collisions could significantly impact age measurements.
Designing new mirror materials for better gravitational-wave detection
Nicholas Demos, a first-generation college graduate and MathWorks Fellow in MIT’s Kavli Institute, is improving our ability to listen to the cosmos.
Daniel Harlow awarded Packard Foundation Fellowship
Physics professor receives one of the most prestigious nongovernmental awards for early-career scientists.
Andrea Ghez ’87 wins a share of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics
MIT alumna and two others honored for discoveries in black hole physics.
The wobbling shadow of the M87* black hole
Analysis of Event Horizon Telescope observations from 2009 to 2017 reveals turbulent evolution of the M87* black hole image.