Massive Black Hole Challenges Growth Models

An international team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, has discovered a colossal black hole in the early universe using the James Webb Space Telescope. This black hole, forming 800 million years after the Big Bang, is 400 million times the mass of the Sun, remarkably constituting 40% of its host galaxy's mass. Despite its size, it accretes gas at a significantly low rate, making it essentially dormant and challenging existing models of black hole growth. Researchers propose that black holes undergo brief periods of rapid growth followed by long dormancy, explaining the massive yet inactive state observed. This discovery provides insights into black hole evolution and raises questions about their development in the early universe. The findings have been published in the journal Nature.