Lopsided stellar disks help black holes guzzle gas

Theorists find new recipe for feeding the supermassive centers of galaxies

View a simulation of a lopsided disk forming around a supermassive black hole.

LOPSIDED The core of the Andromeda galaxy shows an off-center ring of older stars (red) in this artist’s rendition. A supermassive black hole (black dot) sits at the center of an inner ring of younger stars (light blue).