"Without the observations of Ganzel and Gas, the whole subject of black holes would have remained theoretical"

Says Prof. Amiel Sternberg from the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University who is also a member of Prof. Ganzel's group in Munich. He emphasizes that the third winner, Roger Penrose, is the one who laid the theoretical foundation for the existence of black holes

"Without the observations of Nobel laureates Reinhart Ganzel and Andrea Gass, the whole subject of black holes would have remained theoretical." Says Prof. Amiel Sternberg from the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Sternberg is also a member of the Flatiron Institute in New York, as well as the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, which is directed by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Reinhart Denzel.

He emphasizes that the third winner, Roger Penrose, is the one who laid the theoretical foundation for the existence of black holes.

In an interview with the Hidan site, Prof. Sternbag explains: "I have been collaborating with Prof. Reinhart's group for many, many years, in fact I have known the group since its foundation. Our group in Munich is unique in that they develop new technology and instruments for very specific scientific purposes. This is very different from the usual way in which there are observatories, and in each of them different types of equipment are installed. Our group in Munich is building state-of-the-art equipment for long-term strategic purposes. One of them is to verify the idea that there is a very massive black hole in the center of the Milky Way."

"This is a project that has lasted for decades, since the beginning of the nineties. Little by little, with a lot of work and effort, the movements of stars around the central black hole were discovered. At the same time, a large group in the USA led by Andrea Gaz (with whom Ganzel shared half of the prize) did the same. I know her too, I even gave her the Sackler Prize when she was young, for these works in the beginning stages."

"The subject of black holes, which is at the center of the Nobel Prize in Physics, is also important in theoretical physics in general, regardless of astronomy, and in astronomy. Roger Penrose came to this field from a theoretical mathematical point of view. The ideas about the existence of black holes preceded Penrose, but they were very theoretical and based On abstract assumptions such as a pure spherical structure, Penrose was able to show that real stars and even a collection of stars can collapse into a black hole state, where once you enter the inner region you will no longer come out."

The idea of ​​black holes at the centers of galaxies has evolved slowly

"The idea of ​​black holes in the centers of galaxies developed slowly. In the 1960s, objects were discovered that were later called quasars, and today it is understood that these are galactic centers that emit a lot of energy, much more than can be described from a single star or even billions of stars. Already in the 1960s, theorists explained that this is energy that is emitted from matter that falls into Deep pit. When the matter enters the pit it cannot get out of it, but on the way down, before it is finally swallowed, this fall causes the emission of this light that we see as a quasar. Penrose's contribution was that he connected Einstein's theory of relativity with the discovery of quasars. The observational work of Ganzel and gas in California, such a black massive does exist in the center of our Milky Way. Today there is evidence, although weaker than the evidence of Ganzel and gas in distant galaxies that also have black holes. Because That the center of our Milky Way is relatively close, only a few tens of thousands of light years, is still close enough to allow these measurements to be made."

"Today we think that every galaxy has a black hole but without these measurements of Ganzel and gas for our Milky Way this idea would have been much less convincing without these measurements many physicists would have said: 'Well you tell all kinds of stories about black holes in the centers of galaxies, a nice idea but no proven.

Prof. Sternberg emphasizes that these measurements began already thirty years ago. "In many cases, the Nobel Prize is given for breakthroughs that were made quite a few years ago. The fact that the idea of ​​black holes in the centers of galaxies seems obvious to you is because of the works of Ganzel and Gas, even if you were not aware of them. It is impossible to know what the considerations of the members of the prize committee are sometimes They give an immediate reward" (for example on the gravitational waves and even on the Higgs boson which were given immediately after the experimental discovery that proved them by A.B.

In response to the science website's question about the role of the late Stephen Hawking, Prof. Sternberg said that Penrose and Hawking can actually be defined as a duo on the theoretical side of black holes. But as you know, the Nobel Prize is given to winners while they are alive.

Prof. Ganzel has extensive connections in the scientific community in Israel and he has published and is publishing joint articles with Prof. Hagi Netzer from Tel Aviv University, Prof. Ram Seri and Prof. Avishi Dekel from the Hebrew University as well as with the late Prof. Tal Alexander who worked at the Weizmann Institute. More articles to follow , including an interview with Prof. Hagi Netzer.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Roger Penrose and the two black hole detectors at the center of the galaxy won the Nobel Prize in Physics
• Prof. Stephen Hawking died in his sleep * He studied black holes and was a social activist
• At least ten thousand Milky Way black holes surround the central black hole
• An explanation of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way as a laboratory for black hole research, including the part of Nobel laureates