了解宇宙是如何运行的（2010）

How the Universe Works S08E08

Part 6 Jan. 30, 2022, 2:59 p.m.

因此，我们估计，在发现的十几颗X射线双星中
So we estimate that for the
dozen x-ray binaries discovered,
可能还有1000多颗以上
there could be up
to a thousand more.
♪
总的来说，在这个3光年的空间中
in total, there could be
20,000 stellar mass black holes
可能有2万个恒星质量的黑洞
in this 3-light-year
region of space.
♪
为什么这些黑洞会聚集在星系中心？
why are these black holes
swarming in the galaxy center?
它们似乎是从银河系的其他地方迁移过来的
It appears they've migrated
from the rest of the milky way.
特伦布雷:通过一个叫做动态摩擦的过程
Tremblay: Through a process
called dynamical friction,
黑洞实际上可以非常非常迅速地
black holes can actually sink
to the centers of galaxies
下沉到星系的中心，就像把石头扔进池塘一样
very, very rapidly, like
dropping a stone into a pond.
这意味着，一个飘忽不定的黑洞
What that means
is that an errant,
最终可能会找到
wandering black hole
might eventually
通往我们银河系中心的路
find its way toward the center
of our own galaxy,
也就是人马座a星所在的地方
where sagittarius a-star
resides.
当恒星质量的黑洞围绕星系运行时
Narrator: As stellar mass black
holes orbit the galaxy,
它们与恒星、气体云
they interact gravitationally
和尘埃发生引力作用
with stars and clouds
of gas and dust.
这些相互作用将黑洞
These interactions
push the black holes
推向星系的中心
towards the center
of the galaxy,
那里是黑洞聚集的地方
where the black holes swarm.
♪
一群恒星质量的黑洞听起来是致命的
a swarm of stellar mass
black holes sounds deadly,
但它可能不是银河系中心
but it may not be
the most lethal thing
最致命的东西
in the center of the milky way.
一项令人惊讶的观测表明
A surprising observation
indicates that there is a lot
在我们银河系的中心存在着大量的反物质
of antimatter
in the center of our galaxy.
当反物质和物质相遇时
Narrator: And when antimatter
meets matter,
结果是爆♥炸♥性的
the results are explosive.
♪
2017年
narrator: In 2017,
天文学家试图解开一个长达几十年的宇宙之谜……
astronomers tried to solve
a decades-old cosmic mystery...
……无法解释的高能辐射
...Unexplained
high-energy radiation
穿过我们的星系
streaming through our galaxy.
一开始，我们不知道它是从哪里来的
At first, we didn't know
where it was from.
但我们发现它是来自
But we discovered
it was gamma radiation
银河系中心某处的伽马射线
coming from somewhere
in the center of the milky way.
问题是，是什么产生了这些伽马射线？
The question is,
what's making these gamma rays?
这是很难做到的
That's hard to do.
这不是你搓手就能产生
It's not like
you can rub your hands together
伽马射线
and generate gamma rays.
当我们仔细观察伽马射线时
Narrator: When we took a closer
look at the gamma rays,
我们发现了宇宙中最具爆♥炸♥性
we discovered the signature
of the most explosive substance
特征的物质——反物质
in the universe -- antimatter.
反物质和普通物质一样
Antimatter is like
normal matter
只是带相反的电荷
but with opposite charge.
就是这样它是物质的邪恶孪生兄弟
That's it.
It's matter's evil twin.
当邪恶的双生子遇到善良的双生子
Narrator:
When evil twin meets good twin,
这不是一个快乐的重聚
it is not a happy reunion.
普莱特:反物质很可怕
Plait: Antimatter is scary.
这不是你在厨房♥里吃东西
It's not like you want
to have some in your kitchen.
这种物质非常非常
This stuff is very,
very explosive,
具有爆♥炸♥性，你不会想要接触它们的
if you want to think
of it that way.
如果它接触到普通物质
If it touches normal matter,
就会释放出巨大的能量
it releases a huge
amount of energy.
当物质和反物质结合时
Narrator: When matter
and antimatter combine,
它们相互湮灭
they annihilate each other
and transform
转化为高能辐射，就像我们看到的
into high-energy radiation,
just like the gamma rays
从银河系中心流出的伽马射线一样
seen streaming out
of the center of the milky way.
我们在整个星系中都
We see antimatter
throughout the galaxy,
能看到反物质，但奇怪的是
but strangely,
the galactic center
银河系中心的反物质似乎比其他地方多40%
seemed to have 40% more
antimatter than anywhere else.
现在在我们星系的中心
Right now in the heart
of our galaxy,
我们实际上观察到反物质的喷泉
we actually observe
fountains of antimatter
每一秒钟就会产生
that are producing
10 trillion tons
10万亿吨♥反物质
of antimatter
every second.
我们一直想知道的一个大问题是
One of the big questions
that we've wondered about
这些东西的起源是什么？
for a very long time, is what's
the origin of this stuff?
起初，有几个嫌疑对象
Narrator: Initially,
there were several suspects.
普莱特:一个可能的反物质来源
Plait: One possible source
of antimatter
是中♥央♥黑洞——人马座a星
is the central black hole,
sagittarius a-star.
物质可以围绕着它旋转
Matter can be swirling
around this
由于它有非常高的能量
and it can have
such high energy
从而可以产生反物质
that it can create antimatter.
但反物质
Narrator: But the antimatter
并非来自于单一的点
isn't coming
from a single point,
它分布在数千光年的空间中
it's spread across thousands
of light-years of space.
所以人马座a星
So sagittarius a-star
不可能是伽马射线流的来源
can't be the source
of the gamma-ray stream.
另一个怀疑对象是暗物质
Another suspect
was dark matter.
目前宇宙中最大的谜团之一
One of the biggest mysteries
in the universe
就是暗物质
right now is dark matter.
我们知道宇宙中的大部分物质的质量
We know that the majority
of mass in the universe
与我们的形式不同
is not in the same form
that we are.
它不是由原子组成的
It's not made of atoms,
但不管它是什么粒子，或者可能是什么粒子
but whatever sort of particle
it is or may be,
如果这些粒子碰撞，它们就会产生反物质
if these things collide,
they can produce antimatter,
这就会产生伽马射线
and that will produce
the gamma rays.
所以，当我们观察星系的中心
So it's possible that as we look
into the heart of the galaxy
看到这些额外的伽马射线时
and see these extra gamma rays,
这可能是暗物质存在的信♥号♥♥
that's the signal
that dark matter is there.
但我们探测到的伽马射线太弱了
Narrator: But the gamma ray
stream we detected is too weak
不可能是由暗物质产生的
to have been created
by dark matter.
然后我们有了一个突破
Then we had a breakthrough.
我们发现一种叫做钛-44的特殊金属
We discovered that a special
metal called titanium-44
可能是产生伽马射线流的原因
could be responsible
for the gamma-ray stream.