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Story summary
- A Nature study led by Hui Tong of Monash University finds a real mass gap in black holes starting near 45 solar masses, indicating a boundary rather than an anomaly.
- The gap arises from pair-instability supernovae that destroy massive stars before they form black holes.
- Tong notes the gap could help estimate cosmic expansion and illuminate stellar mergers.
- The findings highlight how dying stars shape black hole populations.
