Discovery of "Outsize Black Hole" Offers Insights into Early Universe

• 10 Nov 2023

In a significant discovery, a team of astronomers used the Chandra X-ray Observatory to identify an intense, superheated, X-ray-emitting gas in a distant galaxy, signifying the presence of a rapidly growing supermassive black hole.

Key Points

• Gravitational Lensing Amplification: The light from the galaxy and the X-rays emitted by the gas surrounding the supermassive black hole are magnified approximately fourfold due to gravitational lensing.
• This lensing enhances the infrared signals detected by the James Webb Space Telescope and allows Chandra to identify the faint X-ray source.
• A Birth of a Massive Black Hole: The research holds vital clues about how some supermassive black holes can attain enormous masses shortly after the Big Bang.
• The findings strongly suggest that the newly discovered black hole was born with significant mass, estimated to be between 10 and 100 million times that of the Sun.
• This is in stark contrast to nearby black holes, which typically contain only a small fraction of their host galaxy's star mass.
• Formation from Massive Gas Clouds: The large mass of the black hole at such a young age, along with its X-ray emissions and the galaxy's brightness detected by the James Webb Space Telescope, align with theoretical predictions made in 2017 for an "Outsize Black Hole."
• This suggests that some black holes form directly from the collapse of massive gas clouds.
• Advancing Understanding of the Early Universe: The researchers plan to utilize this discovery, along with data from other telescopes, to enhance their understanding of the early universe.