New scientific inquiry conducted by physicists affiliated with the University of Oxford, Johns Hopkins University, and the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris posits that the unique, astronomically occurring mechanism for generating a particle accelerator capable of reaching center-of-mass energies in the tens to hundreds of teraelectronvolt range – essentially a supercollider – involves collisions between particles in freefall from an infinite distance and material spiraling off the retrograde innermost stable circular orbit of a spinning black hole.
This artist’s concept portrays the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, known as Sagittarius A*. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Ralf Crawford, STScI.
Particle colliders are instrumental in smashing protons and other subatomic particles together at velocities approaching the speed of light, thereby illuminating the most fundamental constituents of matter.
The ephemeral energy signatures and fragmented remnants resulting from these collisions hold the potential to unveil particles previously unknown to science, including hypothetical candidates for dark matter – a pervasive yet elusive component of the cosmos that remains undetected.
Infrastructure such as the Large Hadron Collider has also been a catalyst for advancements in the internet, cancer therapeutics, and high-performance computing.
“A primary aspiration for particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider is the potential generation of dark matter particles, yet empirical evidence remains elusive,” stated Professor Joseph Silk, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Oxford.
“Consequently, deliberations are in progress regarding the construction of a significantly more potent iteration, a next-generation supercollider.”
“However, as we commit substantial financial investment and anticipate a lengthy construction period for this supercollider, it is conceivable that nature offers a preview of such phenomena within supermassive black holes.”
A black hole possesses the capacity to rotate on its axis, akin to a celestial body, but with substantially amplified intensity due to its profound gravitational pull.
An increasing body of evidence suggests that certain rapidly rotating, massive black holes situated at galactic cores expel colossal bursts of plasma, a phenomenon likely driven by energy derived from their spin and surrounding accretion disks.
It is these energetic events that could potentially yield outcomes analogous to those achieved by human-engineered supercolliders.
“Should supermassive black holes be capable of producing these particles through high-energy proton interactions, we might detect an observable signal on Earth – a particle of exceptionally high energy traversing our detectors at remarkable speed,” remarked Professor Silk.
“This would serve as definitive evidence for a novel particle collider operating within the universe’s most enigmatic entities, achieving energy levels unattainable by any terrestrial accelerator.”
“We would observe a signature exhibiting unusual characteristics, conceivably providing corroboration for dark matter, which represents a more speculative inference but remains a possibility.”
The recent investigation demonstrates that inflowing gas streams in proximity to a black hole can extract energy from its rotational momentum, resulting in dynamics far more turbulent than previously theorized.
In the vicinity of a swiftly rotating black hole, these particles are prone to chaotic collisions.
While not an exact parallel, the mechanism bears resemblance to the particle acceleration processes employed in modern colliders, wherein intense magnetic fields are utilized within a circular conduit to propel particles.
“A fraction of the particles produced in these collisions is inevitably drawn into the black hole’s singularity, vanishing irrevocably,” Professor Silk elucidated.
“However, owing to their inherent energy and momentum, a portion of these particles is expelled, and it is these ejected particles that are propelled to extraordinary energy levels.”
“Our calculations indicate the potential energy output of these particle beams: comparable to, or even exceeding, that generated by a supercollider.”
“While pinpointing an absolute limit is challenging, their energy levels are certainly commensurate with those anticipated from the newest planned supercollider, thus offering the potential for complementary scientific findings.”
“To detect such high-energy particles, scientists could leverage existing observatories that monitor transient cosmic phenomena such as supernovae, massive black hole expulsions, and other cataclysmic events.”
“Notable among these are detectors like the IceCube Neutrino Observatory situated at the South Pole and the Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope, which recently registered the most energetic neutrino ever recorded originating from beneath the Mediterranean Sea.”
“The primary distinction between a supercollider and a black hole lies in their spatial separation; black holes are immensely distant. Nevertheless, the particles they produce are destined to reach us.”
The research team’s publication appeared this week in the esteemed journal Physical Review Letters.
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Andrew Mummery & Joseph Silk. 2025. Black Hole Supercolliders. Phys. Rev. Lett 134, 221401; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.221401
