Researchers at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory have made a breakthrough in gravitational wave astronomy, finding the first clear evidence that a known black hole merger may have occurred under the influence of a third dense object – possibly a supermassive black hole.

By analyzing data from the 2019 gravitational wave event GW190814, the team identified a subtle "acceleration signature" in the signal, caused by the merged black holes orbiting around a third body. This effect, known as line-of-sight acceleration, alters the gravitational wave frequency via the Doppler effect.

This finding offers valuable clues to solving one of astrophysics' key mysteries – how black hole binaries form and evolve.