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Can One Measure How Much a Black Hole’s Mass Has Increased Over Time?

-- Ben | August 7, 2021

Question:

Since the discovery of the ultra-massive black hole Ton-618 in 1970, and considering it has the projected mass of 66 billion M☉ with the diameter of 389.8 billion kilometers, is there a way to calculate how big Ton-618 is present day if it consumed matter at a constant rate. Assuming that its mass and diameter was previously recorded before taking into account the light we intercepted of it is pre-dated 10.37 Billion light years.

-- Ben

Answer:

The amount of mass that a typical black hole consumes over time is much smaller than its total mass, making it difficult to measure how much its mass has increased over time. For example, one of the highest mass consumption rates for a black hole has been measured to be about one solar mass every two days. That amounts to about 183 solar masses per year. If Ton-618 were consuming mass at this rate, its mass would have increased by 183*52=~9500 solar masses since 1970 (52 years). This would be difficult to distinguish within a 66 billion solar mass black hole.

-- Jeff Mangum

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