# R3 | google/gemini-3.6-flash | run 2

## Prompt

Who was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, and for what? Cite your sources.

## Response

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel, and Andrea Ghez for their groundbreaking discoveries regarding black holes. Roger Penrose received one half of the prize, while Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez jointly shared the remaining half [2020 Physics Press Release](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGNDpGMtASKlmQHUdSWLV9hqdAN_tvxJ5Orfz3KFFWZX5LjJWdaSOqBsXucGQ3wejteQs4JU8KQFCn_Eoc8LzVvuEi28kZzw_-krQ4aEcy52d0aH8JjIiBd7WA7lov_ZjaUNnKUk-Wu0e6UUat9s7YLf1yuXP9AXQ==).

## Award Recipients and Discoveries

| Laureate | Share | Recognized Contribution |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Roger Penrose** | 1/2 | Discovering that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity [2020 Nobel Prize Summary](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGck4rvCauxx5uCViae0AMWqaRoSyk8OxglZ_Dni_wDxx62WtyWEEbylk5yhPaWVyjoiQ5OLfDFArr4nXj-Oxol38aVREXAVsvUj9rP-pHuvhLqTpnxyJHiovC9nNmUCnXfdfCb6kouIxQ2XtYbcbGEmg==). |
| **Reinhard Genzel** | 1/4 | Discovering a supermassive compact object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy [MPE Nobel Announcement](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQF6pfjKxm48jrM7pK8FoiYq9gr4BeB9OS7ojDwvMhIOVYEMjdeZi6Fsma3OJ-Qwxy1EOwI6akh_jsdNsX6mJXmgnRGS7VyEJ5NAnl5kSyfjuMv1DyV8ow==). |
| **Andrea Ghez** | 1/4 | Discovering a supermassive compact object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy [Science News Report](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEQqRL2FLaWYjwoa7xOoRmd_-ExVcwHGt9ZVCJ6ID013JMMFLmZ-9cxkPWAIgo5x2K_dLRQWFIxsw1yaVTdPhguty9xmfW51sIA4BQ6561lna1YrXXlq4zx1Fp2UHm7CoGVLEo12eFBKZ6dJMpQp13jb5t-twqa-A7Gsq8l9glNWDsxU35KugVlRtv0OnK2rOudpHL_TMyagHsT-sIGtbEWdasRvPGt_LrxMZA=). |

## Theoretical Proof of Black Holes

Roger Penrose created mathematical concepts to demonstrate that black holes are a direct consequence of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity [2020 Physics Popular Information](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFINpUsx52QW9Ms1NccMLbjD44YKTJwLSLGbGv6u7ViDNLi-8wj7U7vRS9dIaRv4bww1SgNnccc-Vs5P-FYa-lBcqKNouM30s_2xs62OUqxrHnkUS9fahn0wVoQG2OX16k-777F0u7HOBJ0QSZbHbdlq7c29WAqhNUxIYpQBA==). Published in 1965, his theoretical framework established that the collapse of matter under gravity leads to the formation of a black hole containing a central singularity where known laws of physics cease [2020 Physics Popular Information](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFINpUsx52QW9Ms1NccMLbjD44YKTJwLSLGbGv6u7ViDNLi-8wj7U7vRS9dIaRv4bww1SgNnccc-Vs5P-FYa-lBcqKNouM30s_2xs62OUqxrHnkUS9fahn0wVoQG2OX16k-777F0u7HOBJ0QSZbHbdlq7c29WAqhNUxIYpQBA==). Penrose proved that black holes are stable physical entities rather than theoretical anomalies [Science News Report](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEQqRL2FLaWYjwoa7xOoRmd_-ExVcwHGt9ZVCJ6ID013JMMFLmZ-9cxkPWAIgo5x2K_dLRQWFIxsw1yaVTdPhguty9xmfW51sIA4BQ6561lna1YrXXlq4zx1Fp2UHm7CoGVLEo12eFBKZ6dJMpQp13jb5t-twqa-A7Gsq8l9glNWDsxU35KugVlRtv0OnK2rOudpHL_TMyagHsT-sIGtbEWdasRvPGt_LrxMZA=).

## Observational Discovery of the Galactic Center

Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez each led independent astronomy groups beginning in the early 1990s, focusing on the region called Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way [2020 Physics Press Release](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGNDpGMtASKlmQHUdSWLV9hqdAN_tvxJ5Orfz3KFFWZX5LjJWdaSOqBsXucGQ3wejteQs4JU8KQFCn_Eoc8LzVvuEi28kZzw_-krQ4aEcy52d0aH8JjIiBd7WA7lov_ZjaUNnKUk-Wu0e6UUat9s7YLf1yuXP9AXQ==). Using large optical telescopes equipped with adaptive optics, both teams tracked the orbits of stars closest to the galactic core [Science News Report](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEQqRL2FLaWYjwoa7xOoRmd_-ExVcwHGt9ZVCJ6ID013JMMFLmZ-9cxkPWAIgo5x2K_dLRQWFIxsw1yaVTdPhguty9xmfW51sIA4BQ6561lna1YrXXlq4zx1Fp2UHm7CoGVLEo12eFBKZ6dJMpQp13jb5t-twqa-A7Gsq8l9glNWDsxU35KugVlRtv0OnK2rOudpHL_TMyagHsT-sIGtbEWdasRvPGt_LrxMZA=). Their precise stellar tracking confirmed that an invisible object equal to roughly 4 million solar masses governs star movements, delivering the most convincing observational proof of a supermassive black hole [2020 Physics Press Release](https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGNDpGMtASKlmQHUdSWLV9hqdAN_tvxJ5Orfz3KFFWZX5LjJWdaSOqBsXucGQ3wejteQs4JU8KQFCn_Eoc8LzVvuEi28kZzw_-krQ4aEcy52d0aH8JjIiBd7WA7lov_ZjaUNnKUk-Wu0e6UUat9s7YLf1yuXP9AXQ==).

Would you like to explore the observational techniques Genzel and Ghez used to track stars near Sagittarius A*, or examine Penrose's mathematical formulation of spacetime singularities?
