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Two of the universe's most enigmatic phenomena may be intimately linked
宇宙中最神秘的两种现象可能有联系
Black holes—objects so dense that nothing can escape their pull—
黑洞——密度大到任何物体都无法逃脱它们的引力——
are among the most eye-catching predictions of general relativity,
是广义相对论中最引人注目的预言之一。
a model of gravitational attraction proposed by Albert Einstein over a century ago.
广义相对论是爱因斯坦在一个多世纪前提出的引力模型。
They squat invisibly in the middle of galaxies, feasting on stars and interstellar debris.
它们无形地隐藏在在星系中间，以恒星和星球碎片为食。
They are also a clear indicator that general relativity’s days as gravity’s best explanation are numbered.
它们也是一个清晰的标志，广义相对论作为引力最佳解释的日子屈指可数了。
That theory says a black hole’s core is a point of infinite density and pressure called a singularity.
该理论认为，黑洞的核心是一个密度和压力无穷大的点，称为奇点。
This, says Chris Pearson at RAL Space, Britain’s national laboratory for space research,
英国国家空间研究实验室——卢瑟福阿普尔顿实验室的克里斯·皮尔森说，
is a mathematical impossibility.
这在数学上是不可能的。
A host of more palatable alternatives have been proposed, but none has the observational evidence needed to back it up.
人们提出了许多更容易接受的替代方案，但都没有观测证据来支持。
Two new papers, in the Astrophysical Journal and Astrophysical Journal Letters,
皮尔森博士与人合著的两篇论文发表在《天体物理学杂志》和《天体物理学杂志通讯》上，
co-written by Dr. Pearson, are intended to change that.
这些论文旨在改变这一现状。
The papers’ authors scoured astronomical data for information about black holes at two stages of their lives.
这篇论文的作者从天文数据中寻找黑洞两个阶段的信息。
The first sort were youngsters at the centres of new galaxies in which stars were forming at a prolific rate.
第一类是处于新星系中心的年轻星系，在这些星系中，恒星正以极快的速率形成。
The second were more elderly examples in galaxies where star formation has ceased.
第二个是星系中更古老的例子，那里的恒星已经停止诞生。
According to their assumptions, the second group show what fate has in store for the first.
根据他们的假设，第二组表明了第一组的命运。
To their surprise, the researchers found that the old black holes had grown ten times faster than cosmological models would predict.
令他们惊讶的是，研究人员发现旧黑洞的增长速度比宇宙学模型预测的快10倍。
But they think they know what might be happening.
但他们认为自己知道接下来会发生什么。
