Chandra Release - April 30, 2015

Visual Description: 3 Quasars

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image showcases three quasars and an illustration. The three quasars are shown in separate panels across the bottom of the graphic, each colored in bright purple as a large point source. They are located between about 5 billion and 11.5 billion light years away. These quasars have unusually weak emission from certain atoms, especially carbon, at ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths. Computer simulations show that at the rate of material flowing to the black hole is low, matter swirls toward the black hole in a thin disk. However, if the rate of inflow is high, the disk can puff up dramatically into a torus or donut that surrounds the inner part of the disk. This is shown in the artist's illustration in the top part of the main graphic. X-rays, produced in the white disklike region very near to the black hole, are substantially blocked by a thick, donut-shaped part of the disk, making the quasar unusually faint in X-rays. The X-rays are also prevented from striking the particles that are being blown away from the outer parts of the disk in a wind. This results in fainter ultraviolet emission from elements like carbon.