Black holes are one of the most puzzling mysteries of our expanding universe, with their immense gravitational pull that not even light can escape. Despite years of research, black holes remain largely a mystery. An international team of scientists has discovered new information using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

Experts have made a striking discovery: there were more black holes in the early universe than previously reported. The study sheds new light on the formation of supermassive black holes.

The birth of supermassive black holes

The study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University, a leading institution in the study of cosmic phenomena. Experts have delved into uncharted regions of space, illuminating the darkest corners of the universe. The aim is to fill long-standing gaps in our understanding of the formation and evolution of black holes.

A comprehensive study has revealed an unexpectedly large number of black holes in several galaxies less than a billion years after the Big Bang, challenging previous theories about the early universe. Each weighing more than a billion suns, these supermassive black holes raise intriguing questions about their rapid formation and spectacular growth.

“Many of these objects appear to be more massive than we thought they would be at such early times; they either formed with very high mass or grew extremely fast,” said study co-author Alice Young of Stockholm University.

Black holes after the Big Bang

Shortly after the Big Bang, the universe was a dense, hot place filled with primordial matter. As this matter began to cool and coalesce, black holes formed, probably from the collapse of the first massive stars, known as Population III stars.

These stars were more massive than any stars we observe today, and their deaths led to the formation of early black holes.

Some black holes formed during this epoch may have grown rapidly through gas accretion or mergers with other black holes, creating supermassive black holes. These early supermassive black holes are believed to have powered quasars, the bright objects found at the centers of galaxies.

The discovery of quasars around 13 billion years ago suggests that some black holes had masses millions to billions of times that of the Sun quite early in the history of the universe.

The mystery of the black hole is solved

Scientists who studied the population of faint galaxies during the early days of the universe discovered variations in their brightness. These variations are thought to be the hallmarks of black holes. While previous methods failed to detect the presence of these black holes, the methods of the Stockholm University team were much more revealing. The data suggests that some black holes may have formed as a result of the collapse of massive virgin stars during the first billion years of the universe’s existence.

It is clear that such stars are associated with the early universe, because later generations of stars are contaminated with the remains of stars that lived and died before.

Ideas on the formation of black holes

Other theories for the formation of black holes include the collapse of gas clouds, the coalescence of stars into large clusters, and so-called “primordial” black holes that formed in the first few seconds after the Big Bang. A new understanding of how black holes form is contributing to more accurate models of galaxy formation.

“The mechanism by which early black holes form is a key piece of the puzzle of galaxy evolution,” said Matthew Hayes, lead author of the study. “With models of how black holes grow, calculations of galaxy evolution can now be put on a more physical footing and provide a more accurate picture of how black holes form through the collapse of massive stars.”

James Webb Space Telescope

Astronomers around the world will continue to harness the power of telescopes like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to search for black holes that formed shortly after the Big Bang and shed light on their fascinating and elusive properties.

This new generation of observatories will push the boundaries of what we know with their unprecedented sensitivity, helping us uncover the secrets of black hole growth and the role they play in galaxy formation. The study was published on: Astrophysical Journal letters.