Space Sciences

A super-Eddington-accreting black hole ~1.5 Gyr after the Big Bang observed with JWST

H. Suh, J. Scharwächter, et al.

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered LID-568, a fascinating low-mass black hole at redshift z ≈ 4. This black hole is not only small but is also accreting at a staggering 4,000% of the Eddington limit, exhibiting incredible super-Eddington behavior. The authors present crucial insights into rapid black hole growth mechanisms in the early universe.

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Abstract

Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations have revealed a surprisingly abundant population of faint, dusty active galactic nuclei at z ≈ 4–7. This paper presents LID-568, a low-mass (7.2 × 10⁶ M⊙) black hole at redshift z ≈ 4 accreting at more than 4,000% of the Eddington limit (super-Eddington accretion). Analysis of JWST data reveals spatially extended Hα emission indicative of robust nuclear-driven outflows. LID-568 represents an elusive low-mass black hole experiencing super-Eddington accretion, offering crucial insights into rapid black hole growth mechanisms in the early universe.

Publisher

Nature Astronomy

Published On

Nov 04, 2024

Authors

Hyewon Suh, Julia Scharwächter, Emanuele Paolo Farina, Federica Loiacono, Giorgio Lanzuisi, Günther Hasinger, Stefano Marchesi, Mar Mezcua, Roberto Decarli, Brian C. Lemaux, Marta Volonteri, Francesca Civano, Sukyoung K. Yi, San Han, Mark Rawlings, Denise Hung