New Analysis Suggests Black Holes and Galaxies Emerged Together in the Early Universe
The origins of the Universe have long been a subject of fascination and debate among scientists. One of the biggest questions has been whether stars and galaxies formed first, with black holes emerging later, or if black holes existed before the formation of galaxies. A new analysis of data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggests that black holes and galaxies actually emerged together in the early Universe, and that black holes played a crucial role in shaping the galaxies that evolved around them.
Traditionally, it was believed that stars and galaxies came into existence before black holes. However, this new analysis challenges that assumption. Astronomer Joseph Silk of Johns Hopkins University and Sorbonne University explains, “We know these monster black holes exist at the center of galaxies near our Milky Way, but the big surprise now is that they were present at the beginning of the Universe as well and were almost like building blocks or seeds for early galaxies.” This discovery could completely revolutionize our understanding of how galaxies form.
Studying the early Universe is a challenging task since we cannot directly observe it. During the first 500 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang, a dense haze of gases made space opaque, limiting our ability to see what was happening. Despite these limitations, scientists had developed a model of the early Universe. However, recent discoveries have been inconsistent with this model. Black holes and galaxies much larger than expected were found, raising questions about our previous understanding.
The JWST has played a crucial role in shedding light on these mysteries. It has revealed the existence of supermassive black holes in the early Universe. These behemoths were spotted less than 500 million years after the Big Bang, with one observed at 470 million years and another at 400 million years. Interestingly, the mass of the latter black hole, approximately 1.6 million times that of the Sun, matches the masses of the surrounding baby galaxies. This suggests that black holes may have formed through a different mechanism, with huge clouds of matter collapsing directly into black holes without first becoming stars.
According to Silk and his team’s analysis, this implies that black holes could have been present from the very beginning, coexisting with the baby galaxies and influencing their growth. As the central part of the collapsing cloud formed a black hole, the remaining outer regions became the material for the formation of baby stars. The feeding process of the black hole generates powerful winds and jets of high-speed plasma that compress the surrounding star-forming gas, triggering intense waves of star formation. Silk explains, “We’re arguing that black hole outflows crushed gas clouds, turning them into stars and greatly accelerating the rate of star formation.”
While this model provides a new perspective on the relationship between black holes and galaxies, further observations are needed to validate its accuracy and refine it. However, it is becoming clear that the chicken-and-egg problem is not a simple either/or scenario but rather a combination of both. Black holes and galaxies worked together to transform the early Universe into the magnificent array of galaxies we see today, each powered by a central black hole. As we continue to explore and unravel the mysteries of the Universe, this discovery marks a significant step forward in our understanding of its origins.
The research findings have been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, contributing to our ever-growing knowledge of the cosmos.