The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has made an unprecedented observation, identifying the oldest black hole ever recorded. This colossal cosmic entity, boasting a mass equivalent to 1.6 million suns, resides a staggering 13 billion years in the past of our universe.
Equipped with cameras that enable it to peer into the early stages of our universe, the JWST located this supermassive black hole at the heart of the fledgling galaxy GN-z11, a mere 440 million years after the universe’s inception.
This cosmic revelation is not solitary; it joins a multitude of black holes that underwent rapid expansion during the cosmic dawn, occurring approximately 100 million years after the Big Bang—a period when the young universe illuminated for a billion years.
The mechanism behind the swift ballooning of these cosmic whirlpools remains unclear. Investigating this phenomenon could provide insights into the growth of today’s supermassive black holes, which anchor entire galaxies, including our Milky Way. Though the findings were shared on the preprint database arXiv earlier this year, they await formal peer review.
Lead-author Roberto Maiolino, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, noted that black holes in the early universe undergo a distinct birth and growth process, unlike their counterparts in the present-day universe.
While contemporary astronomers attribute the birth of black holes to the collapse of giant stars, the early universe’s black holes undergo a more enigmatic evolution. The research suggests they may form from the sudden collapse of giant gas clouds or emerge through mergers between clumps of stars and black holes. There is also speculation that some black holes could originate from hypothesized “primordial” black holes, potentially created moments after the universe began.
To spot the ancient black hole, astronomers utilized the JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument and Near Infrared Camera, deconstructing faint glimmers from the universe’s early years. The unexpected spike in frequencies within the light revealed telltale signs of hot material around a black hole emitting faint traces of light across the universe.
As scientists delve into the mysteries of these early cosmic giants, the possibility of multiple scenarios shaping their formation remains open. Whether born from collapsing gas clouds, stellar mergers, or seeded by primordial black holes, these ancient behemoths continue to captivate and challenge our understanding of the universe’s evolution.