Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope have made a groundbreaking discovery - the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays. This finding not only expands our knowledge of the universe but also provides insights into the formation of supermassive black holes during the early stages of the cosmos.

Located in the galaxy UHZ1, in the direction of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, this incredibly distant black hole is approximately 13.2 billion light-years away. Remarkably, this means that it existed when the universe was a mere 3% of its current age.

The team of researchers, led by Akos Bogdan of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, utilized the power of gravitational lensing to enhance their observations. This gravitational magnification allowed them to detect the presence of intense, X-ray emitting gas surrounding the growing black hole. The magnification effect was made possible by intervening matter in Abell 2744, amplifying the infrared signals detected by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The discovery of this black hole at such an early stage of growth provides valuable insights into the formation of supermassive black holes. Scientists have long debated whether these cosmic giants are formed directly from the collapse of massive gas clouds or from the explosive deaths of the first generation of stars.

Andy Goulding of Princeton University, a co-author of the study, explains, "There are physical limits on how quickly black holes can grow once they've formed, but ones that are born more massive have a head start. It's like planting a sapling, which takes less time to grow into a full-size tree than if you started with only a seed."

The mass of this newly discovered black hole, estimated to be between 10 and 100 million times that of our Sun, aligns with theoretical predictions made by Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University in 2017. This suggests that the black hole formed from the collapse of a massive gas cloud, representing the first detection of an "Outsize Black Hole."

"We think that this is the first detection of an 'Outsize Black Hole' and the best evidence yet obtained that some black holes form from massive clouds of gas," says Natarajan. "For the first time we are seeing a brief stage where a supermassive black hole weighs about as much as the stars in its galaxy, before it falls behind."

This discovery is just one piece of the puzzle in our quest to understand the early universe. By combining data from different telescopes and ongoing research, scientists hope to assemble a more comprehensive picture of how supermassive black holes evolved and shaped the cosmos.

The findings of this study by Bogdan's team have been published in Nature Astronomy, marking a significant milestone in our understanding of the universe's infancy. Further analysis and interpretations will be published in forthcoming papers, contributing to our ever-growing knowledge of the mysteries beyond our planet.

The exploration and discoveries made by NASA's telescopes continue to captivate scientists and enthusiasts alike, unlocking the secrets of the cosmos and offering glimpses into the remarkable origins of our universe.

Sources:
- Akos Bogdan et al, Evidence for heavy seed origin of early supermassive black holes from a z~10 X-ray quasar, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2305.15458
- Andy D. Goulding et al, UNCOVER: The Growth of the First Massive Black Holes from JWST/NIRSpec-Spectroscopic Redshift Confirmation of an X-Ray Luminous AGN at z = 10.1, The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2023). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/acf7c5
- Chandra X-ray Center