Like Thunder Without Lightning

Invisible black hole-neutron star mergers, i.e. fusions without the emission of electromagnetic radiation, take place in dense stellar environments like in the globular cluster NGC 3201 seen here. European Southern Observatory (ESO) - Mergers between black holes and neutron stars in dense star clusters are quite unlike those that form in isolated regions where stars are few. Their associated features could be crucial to the study of gravitational waves and their source. Dr Manuel Arca Sedda of the Institute for Astronomical Computing at Heidelberg University came to this conclusion in a study that used computer simulations. The research may offer critical insights into the fusion of two massive stellar objects that astronomers observed in 2019. The findings were published in the journal "Communications Physics". Stars much more massive than our sun usually end their lives as a neutron star or black hole.