Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery about a massive black hole, named A2744-QSO1 (QSO1). This black hole existed just 700 million years after the Big Bang, and its findings shed light on how these enormous entities developed so quickly.
QSO1 is about 10 million times heavier than the sun, making up 10% of its galaxy’s total mass. In contrast, black holes we observe today typically carry about 0.005% of their host galaxies’ mass. What makes QSO1 unusual is that its galaxy has very few heavy elements, which signals little star activity and indicates it hasn’t undergone many supernova explosions.
Roberto Maiolino, an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge, explained, “QSO1 has less than 1% of the oxygen we see in our sun. This means we are looking at a galaxy that hasn’t experienced much star formation.” The low metal content supports the idea that massive black holes could grow rapidly without a lot of stars dying around them.
Historically, most theories suggest that supermassive black holes form from stellar remnants—small black holes merging over time. However, with QSO1, that doesn’t seem to fit. There hadn’t been enough time or stellar deaths to create such a colossal black hole in that early epoch.
One interesting theory is that primordial black holes, formed shortly after the Big Bang from density fluctuations, may be the building blocks of these supermassive giants. Maiolino noted that these black holes could have formed under unique conditions, directly growing into massive structures.
Hannah Uebler, another researcher, shared that standard models assume supermassive black holes grow by swallowing gas from their surroundings, but this process has limits. The intense light from their accretion disks can counteract the gravitational pull of the black hole itself, restricting growth.
New insights suggest that black holes could also be “born big” or emerge as “heavy seeds.” This directly challenges traditional views and proposes that these massive black holes could start hefty enough to evolve quickly.
In a recent study, simulated models projected that primordial black holes can grow fast by quickly merging, creating the massive structures we now observe. Lewis Prole, a researcher from Maynooth University, highlighted that the evidence for these primordial black holes could explain why we see supermassive black holes at such early stages in the universe.
As we dive deeper into the universe’s mysteries, more data is needed to confirm these theories. The ongoing JWST observations will lay the groundwork for understanding whether these black holes formed without much star activity. The team’s findings have been submitted to the journal Nature for further review and discussion.
For more detailed insights into astronomical research, check out HUBBLE’s recent findings on black holes and cosmic evolution.
