Laura Olivera-Nieto laura. Guillem Martin-Devesa guillem. First, researchers were able to prove that even microquasars with low star masses are efficient particle accelerators, which has a significant impact on the interpretation of the total occurrence of gamma rays in the universe. So far, however, this has only been observed in rarely occurring microquasar systems with a high mass.
Artistic representation of a microquasar. A star and a black hole orbit each other at a small distance, whereby mass is drawn from star to the black hole. As a result, two jets are formed.
And while we are above all familiar with rock meteorites that come from our solar system and create fascinating shooting stars in the night sky, it is the very smallest particles that help scientists understand the nature of the universe.
Subatomic particles such as electrons or protons, which come from interstellar space and beyond, are among the fastest known particles in the universe and are called cosmic radiation. The origin and acceleration mechanisms of the most energetic of these cosmic particles are still one of the greatest mysteries of astrophysics. However, the details of how and under what conditions acceleration processes can take place are unclear.
As a result, the black hole jets occur near the black hole. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of evidence that microquasar jets are efficient particle accelerators. However, it is unclear how much they contribute as a group to the total amount of cosmic rays in the galaxy.
