Scientists uncover universal rule for black hole jets

An international team led by Andrew Mummery and Adelle Goodwin discovered that black holes of all sizes launch jets at the same critical point in their feeding cycle. By studying 20 tidal disruption events using optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and radio observations, they found jets form when accretion rates drop to 2 percent of the Eddington limit—the same threshold governing small black holes in the Milky Way.

We really wanted to figure out this massive puzzle. Why do some supermassive black holes blast out radio jets right after shredding a star, while others just sit there looking completely dormant?