Researchers have discovered the most distant active supermassive black hole to date using the James Webb Space Telescope. The galaxy CEERS 1019 came into existence a little over 570 million years after the Big Bang, and its black hole is less massive than others identified in the early universe. Not only that, but they easily “wobbled” two other smaller black holes, which existed 1 and 1.1 billion years after the Big Bang. Webb also identified eleven galaxies that existed when the universe was between 470 and 675 million years old. Evidence was provided by Webb’s Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) study led by Steven Finkelstein of the University of Texas at Austin. The program combines Webb’s highly detailed near and mid-infrared images and data known as spectra, all used to make these discoveries.

Take a deep dive into this vast landscape. It’s been put together from several near-infrared images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, and it’s almost pulsating with activity. To the right of center is a group of bright white spiral galaxies that appear to be coiled together. Light pink spirals run across the stage like pinwheels spinning in the wind. Bright stars with a blue shade in the foreground announce themselves with bright octagonal Webb diffraction spikes. Do not miss an unusual sight: in the lower row, find the second square from the right. On its right edge is a deformed blue galaxy covered with star clusters with a blue-pink glow. Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Michaela Begley (UT Austin), Rebecca Larson (UT Austin)

CEERS 1019 is notable not only for how long it has existed, but also for the relatively light weight of the black hole. This black hole has a mass of about 9 million solar masses, which is much smaller than other black holes that also exist in the early universe and have been detected by other telescopes. These giants usually contain more than 1 one billion They are multiples of the mass of the Sun – and because they are much brighter, they are easier to detect. (As they orbit the black hole, they actively “eat” the glowing matter.) The black hole in CEERS 1019 looks more like the 4.6 million times larger black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Sun This black hole is not as bright as previously discovered larger giants. Despite its smaller size, this black hole existed so early that it is still difficult to explain how it formed so quickly after the beginning of the universe. Researchers have known for a long time that smaller black holes must have existed earlier in the universe, but it wasn’t until Webb began to observe that they were able to make a definitive detection. (This CEERS 1019 registration may only be valid for a few weeks – a statement about the others,

Webb’s data is practically overflowing with accurate information, so it’s easy to extract these validations from the data. “Looking at this distant object with this telescope is a lot like looking at data from black holes in our nearby galaxies,” said Rebecca Larson of the University of Texas at Austin, who led the discovery. “Too many spectral lines to analyze!” Not only did the team determine which emissions in the spectrum came from the black hole and which from its host galaxy, they were also able to determine exactly how much gas the black hole was absorbing and the star formation rate of its galaxy.

The team found that this galaxy was absorbing as much gas as possible while also creating new stars. To investigate why this might be, they turned to imaging. Visually, CEERS 1019 appears as three bright clusters instead of a single circular disk. “We are not used to seeing so many structures in images at these distances,” said Ceyhan Kartaltepe, a CEERS team member from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. “Galaxy mergers may be partially responsible for the activation of this galaxy’s black hole and may also lead to increased star formation.”

This image shows the discovery of the most distant active supermassive black holes currently known in the universe. They were identified using a range of telescopes, both in space and on the ground. Three were recently identified by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Early Evolutionary Science of Cosmic (CEERS) survey.Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI)

Much more distant black holes and galaxies take the stage

CEERS research is extensive and there is much more to explore. Team member Dale Koczewski of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and the team quickly identified another pair of small black holes in the data. The first in the CEERS 2782 galaxy was the easiest to pick. There’s no dust blocking Webb’s view, so researchers were immediately able to determine when the black hole existed in the history of the universe – just 1.1 billion years after the Big Bang. The second black hole in the galaxy CEERS 746 existed a little earlier, 1 billion years after the Big Bang. The bright accretion disk, the ring of gas and dust surrounding the supermassive black hole, is still partially obscured by dust. “The central black hole is visible, but the presence of dust suggests it may also be inside a galaxy that is violently ejecting stars,” Koczewski said.

As with CEERS 1019, these two black holes are both “light” – at least when compared to previously known supermassive black holes at such distances. Their mass is only 10 million times that of the Sun. “Researchers have known for a long time that lower-mass black holes must have existed in the early universe. “Webb is the first observatory to capture them so clearly,” Koczewski added. “We now believe that lower-mass black holes could be anywhere waiting to be discovered.” Before Webb, all three black holes were too faint to detect, Finkelstein added.

Webb’s precise spectra also allowed these researchers to measure the precise distances, and therefore ages, of galaxies in the early universe. Team members Pablo Arrabal Haro of NSF’s NOIRLab and Seiji Fujimoto of the University of Texas at Austin identified 11 galaxies that existed between 470 and 675 million years after the Big Bang. Not only are they extremely distant, it’s remarkable that so many bright galaxies have been discovered. The researchers assumed Webb would discover it. Little galaxies can be found at such distances. “I was amazed by the number of very detailed spectra of distant galaxies that Webb brought back,” said Arrabal Haro. “This data is absolutely incredible.”

These galaxies are forming stars rapidly, but they are not yet as chemically rich as galaxies very close to home. “Webb was the first to discover some of these galaxies,” Fujimoto explained. “This cluster, along with other distant galaxies we may identify in the future, may change our understanding of star formation and galaxy evolution throughout cosmic history,” he added.

These are just the first results of the CEERS study. “Until now, studies of objects in the early universe have been largely theoretical,” Finkelstein said. Said. “Thanks to Webb, we’re not only seeing black holes and galaxies at great distances, but we’re also starting to measure them with precision. That’s the tremendous power of this telescope.” Perhaps in the future, Webb’s data can also be used to explain how early black holes formed by reviewing research models of how black holes grow and evolve in the first few hundred million years of the universe’s history.

Several early papers on CEERS survey data have been accepted by The Astrophysical Journal Letters: “CEERS discovery of a supermassive black hole accumulating 570 million years after the Big Bang: The identity of the ancestor of the large z>6 quasar,” under the direction of Larson, “Hidden Little Monsters: Spectroscopic Identification of Low-Mass, Broad-Line AGN at z > 5 with CEERS”, led by Kocevski, “Spectroscopic confirmation of CEERS NIRCam selected galaxies at z≃8−10”, led by Arrabal Haro, and “JWST/NIRSpec” led by Fujimoto Spectroscopic Validation of CEERS-selected NIRCam z ≳ 8 Candidate Galaxy: Initial Characterization of Its Properties”.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s leading space science observatory. Webb will unravel the mysteries of our solar system, peek into distant worlds around other stars, and discover the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program that NASA runs with its partners ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. Source