Astronomers have uncovered clues to a red giant’s chaotic past by detecting subtle stellar vibrations that hint at a long-ago collision and an unexpectedly rapid spin.
Astronomers at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) have pieced together the turbulent history of a distant red giant by studying the rhythms hidden in its light. Slight shifts in the star’s brightness indicate it may have collided and merged with another star in the past, a dramatic event that left it rotating unusually fast. Today, this star orbits a dormant black hole in the Gaia BH2 system.
With observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), IfA researchers identified faint “starquakes” moving through the Gaia BH2 companion star, which was recognized as a black hole system by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission in 2023. Similar to how seismic activity reveals Earth’s interior, these vibrations offered an uncommon look inside the star and allowed scientists to determine its core characteristics with exceptional accuracy. The research has been published in The Astronomical Journal.
“Just like seismologists use earthquakes to study Earth’s interior, we can use stellar oscillations to understand what’s happening inside distant stars,” said IfA research scientist Daniel Hey, lead author of the study. “These vibrations told us something unexpected about this star’s history.”
Age-defying star
The most unexpected finding came from the star’s composition. It is classified as “alpha-rich”, indicating that it contains an abundance of heavier elements typically seen in stars that formed long ago, which would normally imply great age. Yet when researchers analyzed its vibrations, they determined that the star is only about 5 billion years old, far too young to naturally possess these chemical characteristics.
Audio of star vibration. Credit: UH Institute for Astronomy
“Young, alpha-rich stars are quite rare and puzzling,” explained Hey. “The combination of youth and ancient chemistry suggests this star didn’t evolve in isolation. It likely acquired extra mass from a companion, either through a merger or by absorbing material when the black hole formed.”
Faster than expected
The mystery deepens with long-term observations from ground-based telescopes showing the star rotates once every 398 days, much faster than expected for an isolated red giant of its age.
“If this rotation is real, it can’t be explained by the star’s birth spin alone,” said co-author Joel Ong, a NASA Hubble Fellow at IfA. “The star must have been spun up through tidal interactions with its companion, which further supports the idea that this system has a complex history.”
The team also examined Gaia BH3, another black hole system with an even more unusual companion star. Although models predicted that this star should show clear oscillations, none were detected, hinting that current theories about extremely metal-poor stars may need updating.
Both Gaia BH2 and BH3 are dormant black hole systems, meaning they aren’t feeding on their companion stars and therefore emit no X-rays. Their discovery through precise measurements of stellar motion is reshaping how astronomers understand black holes in our galaxy.
Peering deeper ahead
Future TESS observations of Gaia BH2 will give scientists a closer look at its stellar vibrations and may confirm whether it formed through a past merger, helping unravel how these quiet black hole pairs came to be.
Reference: “Asteroseismology of the Red Giant Companions to Gaia BH2 and BH3” by Daniel Hey, Yaguang Li and J. M. Joel Ong, 13 November 2025, The Astronomical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ae0e25
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1 Comment
C Memo 2511_2716220,280333_Source 1. Reinterpreted Storytelling【】
Source 1.
https://scitechdaily.com/astronomers-discover-a-star-that-breaks-the-rules-orbiting-a-silent-black-hole/
1.
Astronomers Discover a Star That Breaks the Rules of Orbiting a Silent Black Hole
1.
_Astronomers have discovered clues to a red giant’s turbulent past by detecting subtle stellar pulsations that suggest a long-ago collision and unexpectedly rapid rotation.
_Astronomers at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) have pieced together the turbulent history of a distant red giant by studying the rhythms hidden in its light.
_Subtle fluctuations in the star’s brightness suggest that it may have collided and merged with another star in the past, a dramatic event that caused it to spin at an unusually high speed.
This star currently orbits a dormant black hole in the Gaia BH2 system.
1-1.
_Observations with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) revealed faint “star tremors” passing through the Gaia BH2 companion star.
_This star was confirmed as a black hole system by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia mission in 2023. Just as seismic activity reveals the interior of the Earth, these tremors provided a rare glimpse into the star’s interior, allowing scientists to determine its core properties with remarkable precision. This study was published in The Astronomical Journal.
1-2. “Just as seismologists use earthquakes to study the interior of the Earth, we can use stellar vibrations to understand what’s happening inside distant stars,” said IfA research scientist Daniel Hay, lead author of the study. “These vibrations revealed unexpected information about the star’s history.”
[Stellar vibrations are numerous arrays of MSBASE. They are essentially composed of four samples.
sample1. msbase12.qpeoms.2square.vector
oms.vix.a’6,vixx.a(b1,g3,k3,o5,n6)
b0acfd|0000e0
000ac0|f00bde
0c0fab|000e0d
e00d0c|0b0fa0
f000e0|b0dac0
d0f000|cae0b0
0b000f|0ead0c
0deb00|ac000f
ced0ba|00f000
a0b00e|0dc0f0
0ace00|df000b
0f00d0|e0bc0a
sample2.qoms(standard)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1=2,0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
sample3.pms (standard)
q0000000000
00q00000000
000q0000000
0000000q000
000000000q
0q000000000
000000000q
0000000000
00000000q00
000000000q0
sample4.msoss(standard)
zxdxybzyz
zxdzxezxz
xxbyyxzz
zybzzfxzy
cadccbcdc
cdbdcbdbb
xzezxdyyx
zxezybzyy
bddbcbdca
】
2. Age-defying stars
_The most unexpected discovery came from the composition of stars. This star is classified as “alpha-rich,” meaning it contains an abundance of heavy elements commonly found in stars that formed long ago.
This typically suggests a long age. However, researchers analyzed the star’s oscillations and found that it is only about 5 billion years old, making it far too young to naturally possess these chemical properties.
2-3.
“Young, alpha-rich stars are extremely rare and enigmatic,” Hay explained.
“The combination of youth and ancient chemical reactions suggests this star didn’t evolve in isolation. It likely gained additional mass through mergers or the absorption of material from a companion star during the formation of its black hole.”
[Alpha particles are the core building blocks of stars created by one_mpixell.exemple1.mbshell.msbase oscillations. Are there galaxies of neutron stars that contain only their cores? Well, maybe.
Of course, they are no longer in msbase, as some have transformed into black holes.
The original sample1.oms.vix.ain, which only contains vixxa, is the original.
exemple1.Electromagnetic wavelength(00void,01poms).qpeoms_system
01000000_vix.black_hole.mode
00000100_
00000001-vixx.neutron_stars.mode
00010000-
[Alpha Particle: Alpha particles are helium nuclei composed of two protons and two neutrons. Alpha particles are primarily produced through alpha decay of radioactive isotopes. Alpha particles do not play a key role in the primary particle emission process of pulsars.]
memo2511280324
>>>>>>Example1 and pms draw infinite unit mass and energy qpeoms, instantly generating msbase.power.
】
3. Faster Than Expected
Long-term observations with ground-based telescopes have shown that the star rotates once every 398 days, much faster than expected for an isolated red giant of its age.
“If this rotation is real, the star’s birth cannot be explained by rotation alone,” said Joel Ong, co-author and NASA Hubble Fellow at IfA. “The star would have rotated through tidal interactions with its companion star, further supporting the hypothesis that this stellar system has a complex history.”
【While there are various opinions on the conditions for star formation, my msbase.nk theory focuses on (mbshell≈qqcell).!mpixell.nk.
>>>> In that small area, Example 1. (m.pixell_qpeoms), each (00,01), mpell(*) contains a polarization field (em.xy_zz’.field) of gamma-ray (01) electromagnetic waves that trigger electromagnetic storms. Oh my.
】
_The research team also investigated another black hole system with an even more unusual companion star, Gaia BH3. Models predicted this star would exhibit distinct oscillations, but no oscillations were detected. This suggests that current theories about stars with extremely low metal contents may need to be revised.
_Both Gaia BH2 and BH3 are dormant black hole systems, not absorbing their companion stars and therefore not emitting X-rays. These black holes, discovered by precisely measuring the motion of the stars, are redefining how astronomers understand black holes in our galaxy.
【Active black holes are systems undergoing a power-up of msbase or transitioning to msoss. Inactive black holes, on the other hand, are those whose arrangement has not changed.
ai_data1().
[Emitted particles: Accelerated electrons move within a strong magnetic field and emit high-energy electromagnetic waves (radio waves, X-rays, gamma rays, etc.). When gamma rays are absorbed by the magnetic field, a “particle cascade” occurs, creating pairs of electrons and their antimatter, positrons.
Therefore, the plasma surrounding a pulsar is primarily composed of electron-positron plasma.]
ni(nature intelligence_data(*)
>>>>When gamma rays are absorbed (interacted) by electromagnetic waves (electric and magnetic fields), a “particle cascade” occurs, creating pairs of electrons and their antimatter, positrons.
】