Scientists propose explanation for mysterious shortage of black holes of a specific mass
American astrophysicists have proposed an explanation for why merging black holes rarely include objects with a mass 12–16 times that of the Sun.
According to their theory, this is due to different formation mechanisms of black holes. The results of the study were published in the journal Physical Review D.
Scientists analyzed 153 cases of black hole mergers from the gravitational wave observation catalog GWTC-4.0. It turned out that objects of a certain mass are significantly less common than others.
Researchers suggest that black holes with a mass of around 10 solar masses may form during the death of a star without a bright explosion—so-called 'failed supernovae.' Larger ones may form after typical supernova explosions.
This hypothesis could explain the observed shortage of black holes in the specified mass range, though it still requires further verification.
