Unveiling the Voracious Appetite of Supermassive Black Holes

Supermassive black holes may feed much faster than previously thought, according to new 3D simulations. These simulations suggest that black holes can consume gas and dust from surrounding accretion disks over a matter of months, rather than hundreds or thousands of years. The findings could help scientists understand how black holes consume surrounding material and how this process affects the evolution of galaxies. The simulations also indicate that the feeding process involves the tearing and replenishing of the inner part of the disk, which may explain the quick brightening and dimming observed in some quasars.