Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,234 studies31 sourcesUpdated 57 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDNature Communications

Jets from a stellar-mass black hole are as relativistic as those from supermassive black holes

  • X. Zhang1,2,3
  • Wenfei Yu4
  • Francesco Carotenuto5,6
  • Rob P. Fender7
  • S. Motta8
  • Arash Bahramian9
  • J. C. A. Miller-Jones9
  • T. D. Russell10
  • Stéphane Corbel11,12
  • P. A. Woudt13
  • P. Atri14,15
  • C. Knigge16
6 more authors
  • G. R. Sivakoff17
  • A. K. Hughes5,17
  • J. van den Eijnden18
  • J. H. Matthews5
  • M. C. Baglio8
  • P. Saikia19
19 affiliations
  1. 1College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
  2. 2Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
  3. 3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  4. 4Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. [email protected]
  5. 5Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  6. 6INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
  7. 7Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. [email protected]
  8. 8INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Merate, Italy
  9. 9International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research-Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
  10. 10INAF, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Palermo, Italy
  11. 11Université Paris-Cité, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, AIM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  12. 12AIM (UMR_7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112) - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM - UMR 7158 - UMR E 9005, ex 'Astrophysique Interactions Multi-échelles', Service d'astrophysique, CEA/Saclay, Orme des Merisiers F-91191 GIF SUR YVETTE CEDEX - France)
  13. 13Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
  14. 14ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
  15. 15Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  16. 16School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
  17. 17Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
  18. 18Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  19. 19Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Relativistic jets from supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei are amongst the most powerful phenomena in the universe. Similar jets from stellar-mass black holes offer a chance to study the phenomena on accessible observation time scales. However, such comparative studies across black hole masses and time scales remain hampered by the long-standing perception that stellar-mass black hole jets are in a less relativistic regime. Here, we show the detection of two distinct, relativistic jet ejections from the Galactic black hole X-ray binary 4U 1543−47 during a single outburst, with radio interferometry monitoring observations. Our measurements reveal a likely Lorentz factor of approximately 8 and a minimum of 4.6 at launch with 95% confidence, demonstrating that stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries can launch jets as relativistic as those seen in active galactic nuclei. Relativistic jets launched from stellar-mass black holes (BHs) in our galaxy have been observed in less relativistic regime than those seen in the extra-galactic supermassive BHs named active galactic nucleus (AGN). Here, the authors show two relativistic jets from galactic BH X-ray binary 4U 1543−47, which are comparable to those seen in AGN.

Related

  1. Orbital Migration of Interacting Stellar Mass Black Holes in Disks around Supermassive Black Holes. III. Mass Distribution of Hierarchical Mergers
    Katherine L. Gonglewski, Amy Secunda, Mordecai-Mark Mac Low +3
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textHigh-energy astrophysicsIOP/AASCrossref
  2. Stellar Collisions from Self-consistent Stellar Dynamics around Growing Supermassive Black Holes
    Fupeng Zhang, Pau Amaro Seoane
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsIOP/AASCrossref
  3. Stellar Collisions from Self-consistent Stellar Dynamics Around Growing Supermassive black Holes
    Fupeng Zhang, Pau Amaro Seoane
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textGalaxiesHigh-energy astrophysicsarXiv
  4. Disk truncation triggers relativistic jet launching of a highly accreting supermassive black hole
    Hirofumi Noda, Kazuhiro Hada, Hiroto Maruyama +10
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textGalaxiesHigh-energy astrophysicsarXiv
  5. Disk Truncation Triggers Relativistic Jet Launching of a Highly Accreting Supermassive Black Hole
    Hirofumi Noda, Kazuhiro Hada, Hiroto Maruyama +10
    The Astrophysical Journal LettersPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026jets,
  title = {{Jets from a stellar-mass black hole are as relativistic as those from supermassive black holes}},
  author = {X. Zhang and Wenfei Yu and Francesco Carotenuto and Rob P. Fender and S. Motta and Arash Bahramian and J. C. A. Miller-Jones and T. D. Russell and Stéphane Corbel and P. A. Woudt and P. Atri and C. Knigge and G. R. Sivakoff and A. K. Hughes and J. van den Eijnden and J. H. Matthews and M. C. Baglio and P. Saikia},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-72897-5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72897-5},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Jets from a stellar-mass black hole are as relativistic as those from supermassive black holes
AU  - X. Zhang
AU  - Wenfei Yu
AU  - Francesco Carotenuto
AU  - Rob P. Fender
AU  - S. Motta
AU  - Arash Bahramian
AU  - J. C. A. Miller-Jones
AU  - T. D. Russell
AU  - Stéphane Corbel
AU  - P. A. Woudt
AU  - P. Atri
AU  - C. Knigge
AU  - G. R. Sivakoff
AU  - A. K. Hughes
AU  - J. van den Eijnden
AU  - J. H. Matthews
AU  - M. C. Baglio
AU  - P. Saikia
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/15
JO  - Nature Communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-72897-5
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72897-5
AB  - Relativistic jets from supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei are amongst the most powerful phenomena in the universe. Similar jets from stellar-mass black holes offer a chance to study the phenomena on accessible observation time scales. However, such comparative studies across black hole masses and time scales remain hampered by the long-standing perception that stellar-mass black hole jets are in a less relativistic regime. Here, we show the detection of two distinct, relativistic jet ejections from the Galactic black hole X-ray binary 4U 1543−47 during a single outburst, with radio interferometry monitoring observations. Our measurements reveal a likely Lorentz factor of approximately 8 and a minimum of 4.6 at launch with 95% confidence, demonstrating that stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries can launch jets as relativistic as those seen in active galactic nuclei. Relativistic jets launched from stellar-mass black holes (BHs) in our galaxy have been observed in less relativistic regime than those seen in the extra-galactic supermassive BHs named active galactic nucleus (AGN). Here, the authors show two relativistic jets from galactic BH X-ray binary 4U 1543−47, which are comparable to those seen in AGN.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -