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Two of the universe's most enigmatic phenomena may be intimately linked
宇宙中最神秘的兩種現象可能有聯系
Black holes—objects so dense that nothing can escape their pull—
黑洞——密度大到任何物體都無法逃脫它們的引力——
are among the most eye-catching predictions of general relativity,
是廣義相對論中最引人注目的預言之一。
a model of gravitational attraction proposed by Albert Einstein over a century ago.
廣義相對論是愛因斯坦在一個多世紀前提出的引力模型。
They squat invisibly in the middle of galaxies, feasting on stars and interstellar debris.
它們無形地隱藏在在星系中間，以恒星和星球碎片為食。
They are also a clear indicator that general relativity’s days as gravity’s best explanation are numbered.
它們也是一個清晰的標志，廣義相對論作為引力最佳解釋的日子屈指可數了。
That theory says a black hole’s core is a point of infinite density and pressure called a singularity.
該理論認為，黑洞的核心是一個密度和壓力無窮大的點，稱為奇點。
This, says Chris Pearson at RAL Space, Britain’s national laboratory for space research,
英國國家空間研究實驗室——盧瑟福阿普爾頓實驗室的克里斯·皮爾森說，
is a mathematical impossibility.
這在數學上是不可能的。
A host of more palatable alternatives have been proposed, but none has the observational evidence needed to back it up.
人們提出了許多更容易接受的替代方案，但都沒有觀測證據來支持。
Two new papers, in the Astrophysical Journal and Astrophysical Journal Letters,
皮爾森博士與人合著的兩篇論文發表在《天體物理學雜志》和《天體物理學雜志通訊》上，
co-written by Dr. Pearson, are intended to change that.
這些論文旨在改變這一現狀。
The papers’ authors scoured astronomical data for information about black holes at two stages of their lives.
這篇論文的作者從天文數據中尋找黑洞兩個階段的信息。
The first sort were youngsters at the centres of new galaxies in which stars were forming at a prolific rate.
第一類是處于新星系中心的年輕星系，在這些星系中，恒星正以極快的速率形成。
The second were more elderly examples in galaxies where star formation has ceased.
第二個是星系中更古老的例子，那里的恒星已經停止誕生。
According to their assumptions, the second group show what fate has in store for the first.
根據他們的假設，第二組表明了第一組的命運。
To their surprise, the researchers found that the old black holes had grown ten times faster than cosmological models would predict.
令他們驚訝的是，研究人員發現舊黑洞的增長速度比宇宙學模型預測的快10倍。
But they think they know what might be happening.
但他們認為自己知道接下來會發生什么。
