Astronomers’ new study sheds light on the mystery of the massive formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe. Under normal conditions, the rate at which they absorb matter does not allow them to reach the observed sizes. Alternative hypotheses also explain this phenomenon. The new count of supermassive black holes, at least in the early universe, has revealed many more objects than previously thought.

In a new study using Hubble observations (also confirmed by Webb observations in a separate paper), astronomers looked for supermassive holes (SMPs) and signs of their existence in the first billion years after the Big Bang. This far away (or so early), supermassive holes manifest themselves only as quasars, that is, supermassive black holes actively feeding on the active nuclei or centers of galaxies.

The problem is that not all SCDs can be detected this way. Black holes can feed on matter falling on them in portions and remain invisible at such distances for a long time, because in the absence of accretion they do not emit anything. As reported in the article, this is exactly what scientists discovered. Astrophysics Journal Letters. It turns out that there were many more, but much less luminous, black holes in the early universe than previously thought. More importantly, it can help understand how they form and why many of them appear larger than expected.

In a new paper, scientists conclude that there were much more massive black holes in the early universe than previously thought. The standard cosmological model does not allow for the formation of such a large number of massive black hole nuclei as a result of the collapse of matter clouds. There would not be enough dark matter clusters to cause matter to collapse before a series of massive black holes or their embryos would be born. Thus, scientists conclude that the mechanism of multiple formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe may also be different.

Scientists propose to look for an alternative or additional mechanism for the emergence of cores of supermassive black holes in some primary stars. Normally, a star with a certain mass must have formed its core before turning into a black hole after going supernova. However, if dark matter entered the core of the primordial star, nuclear fusion would be delayed from occurring at its usual stage, allowing the star to gain a thousand times more mass. As a result, its core, still under the influence of gravity, will shrink and become a black hole. But initially it will be a massive black hole, whose power dynamics fit well with the known evolution of these objects.

Theoretically, astronomers can detect similar “dark” stars and even get caught in the process of supernova explosions, but this will require the efforts and coordinated actions of many scientists.