Grant funds study of miniature black hole

Fri, June 30, 2006 |

A Valparaiso University professor of astronomy has won a $101,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his studies of an unusual binary system believed to contain a miniature black hole.

The grant will allow Dr. Todd Hillwig, a visiting assistant professor of physics and astronomy, to continue his studies of the system – a microquasar known as SS 433 – over the next three years.

Earlier this summer, Dr. Hillwig won seven nights of observing time at the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii to collect data on SS 433. His observations could confirm the existence of a miniature black hole created by a collapsed star in SS 433 and help scientists learn more about quasars and the universe.

“If we can confirm there is a black hole, it will help us to better understand quasars, which are much larger black holes at the center of very distant galaxies,” Dr. Hillwig said. “That, in turn, helps us understand how large the universe is.”

Now that Dr. Hillwig has received the NSF grant, titled “Research at Undergraduate Institutions: The Unique Microquasar SS 433 – An Optical Program and Contribution to a Multiwavelength Collaborative Study,” he will be applying for more observing time at a telescope during the summer or fall of 2007.

The grant also will allow VU physics and astronomy students to be hired as research assistants and participate in further studies of SS 433.

SS 433, which consists of a regular star orbiting either a black hole or neutron star, has confused astronomers for nearly three decades. Gas from the star is spiraling in a disk toward the microquasar, while at the same time two jets of material shoot out in opposite directions from the center of the disk at extremely high speed.

Dr. Hillwig said the goal of this summer’s observations is to see the star orbiting the microquasar.

“The disk of material surrounding the microquasar is so bright that it washes out the regular star, so our observations this summer took place at a particular time that allowed us to have a better view of the star,” Dr. Hillwig said. “Seeing that star and how it moves, we can determine its mass and whether SS 433 contains a black hole or a neutron star.”

Dr. Hillwig said astronomers first noticed the odd behavior of SS 433 three decades ago, yet haven’t had the technology available to fully understand the system until recently. He first became involved in researching the object in 2003, and the new NSF grant will allow him to continue working with other astronomers in the U.S. and abroad to understand how the microquasar works.