Webb telescope reveals rapid growth of primordial black hole
At the heart of our Milky Way galaxy lies a supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A, which weighs in at a staggering four million times the mass of the sun. Black holes like this one are typically found at the centers of most galaxies and grow by consuming nearby material, such as gas, dust, and stars. However, the discovery of a supermassive black hole existing just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang is challenging current models of black hole growth and formation.
Thanks to the powerful capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have uncovered a primordial black hole, LID-568, that defies expectations. Existing when the universe was only about 11% of its current age, LID-568 is roughly 10 million times the mass of the sun — about 2.5 times the mass of Sagittarius A. This discovery is providing new insights into how supermassive black holes may have formed and grown at a much faster pace than previously thought possible.
“The existence of supermassive black holes in the early universe challenges our current models of black hole formation and growth,” said Hyewon Suh, astronomer at the International Gemini Observatory and the U.S. National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab. Suh is the lead author of a study published in Nature Astronomy that investigates the newfound black hole.
Astronomers had long believed that such massive black holes required significant time to accumulate the vast amounts of material needed for their growth. However, LID-568 appears to be gaining mass at a pace far exceeding expectations. Webb’s observations revealed that this black hole is accreting material at more than 40 times the maximum energy output predicted by the Eddington limit — a theoretical threshold that governs the balance between the outward radiation force and the inward pull of gravity during the accretion process.
“The Eddington limit is a theoretical boundary for how much energy a black hole can emit during accretion,” explained Julia Scharwächter, co-author of the study and astronomer at the Gemini Observatory and NOIRLab. “When a black hole accretes material at a faster rate, the radiation pressure increases to the point where it could counteract the pull of gravity. But LID-568 is exceeding that limit.”
This breakthrough suggests that some supermassive black holes could have undergone episodes of intense, rapid growth — or “supercharged accretion” — enabling them to achieve massive sizes in a fraction of the time scientists once thought was necessary. Such insights could significantly reshape our understanding of how these cosmic giants formed so early in the universe’s history.
Primordial black holes, like LID-568, are believed to have originated in one of two ways: either by the collapse of massive clouds of gas in the early universe or through the explosive deaths of the universe’s first generation of stars. Whatever the cause, the discovery of LID-568 offers critical clues to how these objects could have amassed so much mass so quickly.
“Until now, we have lacked observational confirmation of how these black holes could grow so rapidly in the early universe,” Suh noted.
A key indicator of a growing supermassive black hole is the emission of X-rays — high-energy radiation produced when material around the black hole is superheated as it spirals inward. LID-568’s rapid accretion was first detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, and Webb’s infrared observations allowed researchers to study the black hole in greater detail.
The finding raises new questions about the mechanisms driving this extreme growth. While the exact processes behind LID-568’s rapid accretion remain unclear, astronomers plan to continue studying it with Webb’s advanced instruments. “LID-568 is remarkable due to its extreme growth rate and the fact that it exists so early in the universe,” said Suh. “To understand how this black hole exceeded the Eddington limit, we need more data, and we are planning follow-up observations with Webb.”
This discovery offers a glimpse into the mysteries of the early universe, providing fresh perspectives on the formation and evolution of some of the most enigmatic objects in the cosmos: supermassive black holes.
