NEW DELHI: A group of astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to discover the oldest and farthest black hole ever observed. Dating from the dawn of the universe, the researchers found that the oldest black hole is feasting upon its host galaxy to death.
According to research published in the journal Nature, the newly discovered black hole dates from 400 million years after the Big Bang, more than 13 billion years ago and has a few million times the mass of our sun.The researchers said that the existence of this cosmic giant challenges the assumptions about how black holes form and grow.
Astronomers believe that the supermassive black holes found at the centre of galaxies like the Milky way grew to their current size over billions of years. However, the size of this newly-discovered black hole suggests that they might form in other ways.
According to conventional theories, these black holes emerge from the remnants of dead stars, growing to about a hundred times the mass of the Sun over a billion years. However, this newly discovered black hole is much larger than expected, and since the universe was not yet a billion years old when it was detected, scientists are considering alternative formation mechanisms.
“Very early galaxies were extremely gas-rich, so they would have been like a buffet for black holes,” said lead author Roberto Maiolino, Professor at Cambridge University, UK.
Like all black holes this young black hole is consuming matter from its host galaxy to fuel its growth. However, researchers have observed that it devours matter more vigorously than its older counterparts.
GN-z11 is a compact galaxy, much smaller than the Milky Way, but the black hole is likely harming its development, according to the researchers.
According to Maiolino, when black holes consume excessive amounts of gas, it generates a powerful wind that pushes the gas away. This process can halt star formation, gradually killing the galaxy. Moreover, it also cuts off the black hole’s supply of “food,” which kills the black hole itself.
Although black holes cannot be directly observed, their presence is inferred from the glowing accretion disk that forms near them. This disk heats up and emits energy in the form of ultraviolet radiation. The intense glow is what allows astronomers to detect these cosmic behemoths.
“It’s a new era: the giant leap in sensitivity, especially in the infrared, is like upgrading from Galileo’s telescope to a modern telescope overnight,” Maiolino said.
The sensitivity of JWST means that even older black holes may be found in the coming months and years, he added.
According to research published in the journal Nature, the newly discovered black hole dates from 400 million years after the Big Bang, more than 13 billion years ago and has a few million times the mass of our sun.The researchers said that the existence of this cosmic giant challenges the assumptions about how black holes form and grow.
Astronomers believe that the supermassive black holes found at the centre of galaxies like the Milky way grew to their current size over billions of years. However, the size of this newly-discovered black hole suggests that they might form in other ways.
According to conventional theories, these black holes emerge from the remnants of dead stars, growing to about a hundred times the mass of the Sun over a billion years. However, this newly discovered black hole is much larger than expected, and since the universe was not yet a billion years old when it was detected, scientists are considering alternative formation mechanisms.
“Very early galaxies were extremely gas-rich, so they would have been like a buffet for black holes,” said lead author Roberto Maiolino, Professor at Cambridge University, UK.
Like all black holes this young black hole is consuming matter from its host galaxy to fuel its growth. However, researchers have observed that it devours matter more vigorously than its older counterparts.
GN-z11 is a compact galaxy, much smaller than the Milky Way, but the black hole is likely harming its development, according to the researchers.
According to Maiolino, when black holes consume excessive amounts of gas, it generates a powerful wind that pushes the gas away. This process can halt star formation, gradually killing the galaxy. Moreover, it also cuts off the black hole’s supply of “food,” which kills the black hole itself.
Although black holes cannot be directly observed, their presence is inferred from the glowing accretion disk that forms near them. This disk heats up and emits energy in the form of ultraviolet radiation. The intense glow is what allows astronomers to detect these cosmic behemoths.
“It’s a new era: the giant leap in sensitivity, especially in the infrared, is like upgrading from Galileo’s telescope to a modern telescope overnight,” Maiolino said.
The sensitivity of JWST means that even older black holes may be found in the coming months and years, he added.
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