Universe Fastest-Feeding Black Hole spotted by Astronomers

 Astronomers Spot Early Universe’s Fastest-Feeding Black Hole with NASA Telescopes

Named LID-568, 7.2-million-solar-mass black hole appears to be feeding on matter at a rate 40 times its Eddington limit. Eddington limit relates to the maximum luminosity that a black hole can achieve, as well as how fast it can absorb matter, such that its inward gravitational force and outward pressure generated from the heat of the compressed, infalling matter remain in balance. Illustration given above shows a red, early-universe dwarf galaxy that hosts a rapidly feeding black hole at its centre. Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of astronomers have discovered this low-mass supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy. It is pulling in matter at a phenomenal rate — over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole’s “feast” could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early universe.

This accreting black hole was detected by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in a sample of galaxies from Chandra’s COSMOS legacy survey. This population of galaxies is very bright in the X-ray part of the spectrum, but are invisible in the optical and near-infrared. Webb’s unique infrared sensitivity allows it to detect these faint counterpart emissions. LID-568 stood out within the sample for its intense X-ray emission, but its exact position could not be determined from the X-ray observations alone. A rapidly feeding black hole at the centre of a dwarf galaxy in the early universe may hold important clues to the evolution of supermassive black holes in general. Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of astronomers discovered this low-mass supermassive black hole just 1.5 billion years after the big bang. While short lived, this black hole’s “feast” could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early universe.

So, rather than using traditional slit spectroscopy, Webb’s instrumentation support scientists suggested that the study authors use the integral field spectrograph on Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument. “Owing to its faint nature, the detection of LID-568 would be impossible without Webb,” said Dr. Emanuele Farina, an astronomer at the International Gemini Observatory and NSF’s NOIRLab. “Using the integral field spectrograph was innovative and necessary for getting our observation.” Supermassive black holes exist at the centre of most galaxies, and modern telescopes continue to observe them at surprisingly early times in the universe’s evolution. It’s difficult to understand how these black holes were able to grow so big so rapidly. But with the discovery of a low-mass supermassive black hole feasting on material at an extreme rate so soon after the birth of the universe, astronomers now have valuable new insights into the mechanisms of rapidly growing black holes in the early universe. “This black hole is having a feast,” said Dr. Julia Scharwächter, also from the International Gemini Observatory and NSF’s NOIRLab.

“This extreme case shows that a fast-feeding mechanism above the Eddington limit is one of the possible explanations for why we see these very heavy black holes so early in the Universe.” These results provide new insights into the formation of supermassive black holes from smaller black hole ‘seeds.’ Until now, theories lacked observational confirmation. “The discovery of a super-Eddington accreting black hole suggests that a significant portion of mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding, regardless of whether the black hole originated from a light or heavy seed,” said Dr. Hyewon Suh, also from the International Gemini Observatory and NSF’s NOIRLab. The black hole, called LID-568, was hidden among thousands of objects in the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s COSMOS legacy survey, a catalogue resulting from some 4.6 million seconds of Chandra observations. This population of galaxies is very bright in the X-ray light, but invisible in optical and previous near-infrared observations. By following up with Webb, astronomers could use the observatory’s unique infrared sensitivity to detect these faint counterpart emissions, which led to the discovery of the black hole.

“The discovery of LID-568 also shows that it’s possible for a black hole to exceed its Eddington limit, and provides the first opportunity for astronomers to study how this happens,” the astronomers said. The speed and size of these outflows led the team to infer that a substantial fraction of the mass growth of LID-568 may have occurred in a single episode of rapid accretion. LID-568 appears to be feeding on matter at a rate 40 times its Eddington limit. This limit relates to the maximum amount of light that material surrounding a black hole can emit, as well as how fast it can absorb matter, such that its inward gravitational force and outward pressure generated from the heat of the compressed, infalling matter remain in balance. “It’s possible that the powerful outflows observed in LID-568 may be acting as a release valve for the excess energy generated by the extreme accretion, preventing the system from becoming too unstable.”

These results provide new insights into the formation of supermassive black holes from smaller black hole “seeds,” which current theories suggest arise either from the death of the universe’s first stars (light seeds) or the direct collapse of gas clouds (heavy seeds). Until now, these theories lacked observational confirmation. The new discovery suggests that “a significant portion of mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding, regardless of whether the black hole originated from a light or heavy seed,” said International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab astronomer Hyewon Suh, who led the research team. “To further investigate the mechanisms at play, the team is planning follow-up observations with Webb.” NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Centre controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.