Astronomers discover reason for flickering in black-hole accretion discs

Astronomers from several universities, including the University of Amsterdam, used a computer simulation to discover how high-frequency fluctuations in the intensity of X-rays in black hole accretion disks arise. What they saw was that a thin, tilted accretion disc around a black hole can tear in two and that the 'flickers' are produced by the expansion and contraction of the inner disc. The results of the study headed by Gibwa Musoke (UvA) have been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).