A new analysis of James Webb Space Telescope data suggests that black holes existed at the dawn of time, helping create new stars and supercharging galaxy formation. This theory could challenge the current understanding that they formed after the first stars and galaxies emerged.
The study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters says that black holes may have accelerated the birth of new stars during the first 50 million years of the universe, a small part of its 13.8 billion-year history.
“We know these monster black holes exist at the centre of galaxies near our Milky Way, but the big surprise now is that they were present at the beginning of the universe as well and were almost like building blocks or seeds for early galaxies,” said lead author Joseph Silk in a press statement. Silk is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University and at the Institute of Astrophysics, Paris, Sorbonne University.
The Webb telescope offered a better view into the distant galaxies of the very early universe, but there was a problem — those galaxies appeared much brighter than scientists had predicted. Webb images also reveal an unusually high number of young stars and supermassive black holes.
Predominant theories hold that black holes formed that black holes formed after the collapse of supermassive stars and that galaxies formed after the first stars in the dark early universe. However, the new analysis puts forth the theory that black holes and galaxies coexisted and influenced each other’s growth during the first 100 million years. To put that into context, if the entire history of the universe were a 12-month calendar, that would be the first days of January.
The researchers assert that outflows from black holes crushed gas clouds and turned them into stars. “Otherwise, it’s very hard to understand where these bright galaxies came from because they’re typically smaller in the early universe. Why on earth should they be making stars so rapidly?” added Silk.
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First uploaded on: 08-02-2024 at 17:55 IST
