The James Webb Space Telescope has detected supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei just 500,000 years after the Big Bang. This discovery has surprised astronomers, as these black holes appear to have formed much earlier than previously thought possible. Alexander Kusenko, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, said, “How surprising it has been to find a supermassive black hole with a billion-solar-mass when the universe itself is only half a billion years old.
It’s like finding a modern car among dinosaur bones and wondering who built that car in the prehistoric times.”
Scientists are exploring various theories to explain the rapid formation of these supermassive black holes. One potential explanation involves the collapse of the first Population III stars, which were massive, metal-poor, and short-lived. Upon their death as supernovae, they could have formed stellar-mass black holes that merged over time.
Another suggestion involves the gravo-thermal collapse of self-interacting dark matter halos, leading to the formation of larger black holes. Kusenko and his colleagues have proposed that dark matter might have influenced the rapid formation of supermassive black holes.
Early black holes’ rapid formation
Their research indicates that if dark matter decays, it could have directed the collapse of hydrogen gas clouds without fragmenting them. The presence of dark matter and its potential decay could explain the existence of these massive black holes in the early universe. Doctoral student Yifan Lu, the first author on a paper describing this theory, explains the process: “Hydrogen atoms bonded together in a molecule dissipate energy when they encounter a loose hydrogen atom.
The hydrogen molecules become cooling agents as they absorb thermal energy and radiate it away.” This rapid cooling and subsequent cloud formation could lead to supermassive black holes under the right conditions. Dark matter, which remains largely mysterious, could consist of particles that slowly decay, emitting radiation in the form of photons. This radiation might prevent hydrogen clouds from cooling too quickly, allowing them to form large clouds and eventually supermassive black holes.
Observations like the cosmic optical background could provide further insights into this process. The role of dark matter in the formation of early supermassive black holes presents a fascinating avenue for future research, potentially unraveling one of the many mysteries of our universe.
