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Einstein Frame Dragging Confirmed AT2020afhd

Astronomers Capture First-Ever Spacetime Vortex Caused by a Spinning Black Hole

The precession model of the disc and jet system. Courtesy of Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady9068.

Scientists Report Breakthrough Observation in Rare Cosmic Event

The cosmos has delivered a remarkable surprise to a team of researchers long in pursuit of one of the night sky's most elusive events. Their findings, published in Science Advances, reveal the first-ever recorded sighting of a spiraling vortex within spacetime, generated by a rapidly spinning black hole.

This phenomenon—known as Lense-Thirring precession, or frame-dragging—explains how a black hole twists the fabric of spacetime around it, pulling nearby stars along and causing their orbits to wobble.

Discovery of the Swirling Vortex Effect

How AT2020afhd Revealed a Hidden Spacetime Distortion

The research team, led by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed AT2020afhd—a tidal disruption event in which a star was ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The violent encounter created a swirling disc of stellar debris around the black hole, from which powerful jets of matter were launched at close to light speed.

By tracking rhythmic fluctuations in both X-ray and radio emissions, the scientists discovered that the disc and the jet were wobbling together in a 20-day cycle.

This artist’s impression portrays a black hole’s accretion disc, where the inner section is seen to wobble. The wobble describes the changing alignment of the material as it orbits the central black hole. Credit: NASA.

Confirmation of Einstein's Prediction

Frame-Dragging Validated After More Than a Century

First proposed by Einstein in 1913 and later given mathematical form by Lense and Thirring in 1918, this observation confirms a key prediction of general relativity and opens fresh possibilities for investigating black hole spin, accretion behaviour and the origins of relativistic jets.

Dr Cosimo Inserra, a Reader in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University and co-author of the study, remarked:

"Our research presents the strongest evidence so far for Lense-Thirring precession—a black hole dragging spacetime around itself, much like a spinning top stirring water into a whirlpool."

"This is a real gift for physicists, validating ideas first suggested more than a century ago. Beyond that, these observations shed new light on the nature of TDEs, when a star is torn apart by the overwhelming gravitational pull of a black hole."

"Previously observed tidal disruption events produced stable radio signals, but AT2020afhd showed rapid variability that couldn't be linked to the black hole's energy activity or its immediate surroundings. This strongly supports the presence of frame-dragging and introduces a promising new tool for probing black holes."

How the Phenomenon Was Observed

Multi-Observatory Data Reveals the Black Hole's Motion

To identify the effect, scientists modelled X-ray readings from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory alongside radio data from the Jansky Very Large Array. Spectroscopic analysis allowed them to examine the matter's structure, composition and behaviour, giving them a fuller picture of the process.

Dr Inserra explained:

"By confirming that a black hole can drag spacetime, we're beginning to piece together the mechanics behind it. In much the same way that a rotating charged object generates a magnetic field, a spinning black hole produces a gravitomagnetic field that influences neighbouring stars and cosmic material."

"It serves as a reminder, particularly at this festive time of year as we look up at the night sky in awe, that we have the chance to uncover ever more remarkable cosmic objects in all the astonishing forms nature has created."

Source

Astronomers Detect Unusual Tidal Disruption Events

Discoveries in High-Energy Astrophysics

Latest Updates in Space & Astronomy Research

Space Weather and Its Effects on Biological Systems

Understanding Space Events and Their Effects on Earth


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