Webb’s observations suggest another route to black hole formation.

Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope have provided scientists with further evidence that the first black holes were formed not by the collapse of stars, but by the collapse of giant clouds of gas. This conclusion was reached by a group of astrophysicists who had the opportunity to observe one of the oldest quasars in the universe.

The “traditional” path of black hole evolution is as follows. A star dies, its remnants collapse into a singularity, and it slowly grows, absorbing new stars, planets, and gas clouds. However, the discovery of supermassive black holes that are more than 13 billion years old casts doubt on this model. Because black holes would not have had time to grow immediately after the Big Bang. One of these discoveries is his UHZ-1, the brightest quasar, whose center is her 13.2 billion-year-old giant black hole. This giant “monster” already existed when the universe was just 470 million years old, when stars themselves were just forming.

Through observations, a research team led by Yale astronomer Priyamvada Natarajan discovered that UHZ-1 is not even a galactic nucleus in the strict sense, but rather a young galaxy attached to a massive, much older black hole. . The existence of UHZ-1 excludes the possibility that it was born from a star. Therefore, Dr. Natarajan and her colleagues have no choice but to propose another version. A black hole is an “idea” of a giant cloud of primordial cosmic gas.

The existence of UHZ-1 excludes the possibility that it was born from a star. Therefore, Dr. Natarajan and her colleagues have no choice but to propose another version. A black hole is an “idea” of a giant cloud of primordial cosmic gas. These clouds likely broke off into heavy “nuclei”, enough to support the growth of a supermassive galaxy with a black hole at its center. Natarjan proposed this model in her 2017 and since then, several confirmations have been made. But the last is the most telling.

“UHZ-1 provides strong evidence for the formation of heavy early particles by direct decay in the early universe. … Too big, too early. A peek into a kindergarten class reveals that 5-year-olds are… “It’s like having a child weighing 60 kg and 180 cm tall,” Natarajan explains. Colleagues at other institutions agreed with the scientists. For example, Daniel Holtz, a black hole expert at the University of Chicago, said: “If this is all true, then Priya has discovered a very interesting black hole.”