surprisingly greedy black hole Since the dawn of the universe, the universe has broken two major rules. Not only is it exceeding the “speed limit” for black hole growth, it is also producing extreme X-ray and radio emissions. These two characteristics are not predicted to coexist.
The object, a quasar known as ID830, is an extremely bright and active supermassive black hole (SMBH) that spews enormous amounts of radiation from its poles. It also shines brightly x-ray An emission produced by falling matter swirling around its dark mouth at nearly the speed of light.
Even black holes have their limits.
Black holes are the most voracious gluttons in the universe, but monsters also have feeding restrictions. As they attract gas and dust, this material accumulates in swirling accretion disks. Gravity pulls matter from the disk into the black hole, but the influx of matter creates radiation pressure that pushes it outward, preventing further inflow. As a result, the black hole becomes trapped by a self-regulating process called the Eddington limit.
However, black holes can temporarily bypass this limit and grow rapidly at a given moment. super eddington limit. Researchers have proposed multiple mechanisms for this cosmic gluttony. For example, “it should be entirely possible for a black hole to consume matter faster than the Eddington limit in the short period before the radiation pressure increases to limit the accretion rate.” anthony tayloran astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the study, told Live Science via email.
Alternatively, the black hole could consume material from the disk near its equator, while outward radiation pressure ejects material from the poles. “In this situation, the radiation pressure can exceed the Eddington limit because it does not directly resist the influx of material,” Taylor added. “There are a variety of geometries where this could work.”
Super-Eddington dynamics could help reconcile SMBH growth models with the expanding catalog of early Universe observations. With outstanding infrared sensitivity, james webb space telescope It turns out that small and medium-sized businesses have grown amazingly and incredibly quickly. betray all expectations.
So why have small businesses gotten fat so quickly? Some scientists suggest that Population III starThe first and largest stars in the history of the universe have collapsed to create black hole “seeds” of more than 1,000 solar masses.
But even these heavy seeds will need to be fed for longer periods at the Eddington limit. 650 million years to reach some of the observed sizes. This feat may seem impossible for several reasons, including the vast amounts of gas required to sustain mining for such long periods of time.
Explosive growth of a black hole
The researchers calculated ID830’s growth rate by measuring its brightness at ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray wavelengths. The X-ray brightness suggests that ID830 is accreting at a mass about 13 times the Eddington limit. sudden influx of gas That may have happened when ID830 shredded and swallowed a celestial object that came too close.
“For an SMBH as massive as ID830, this would require a heavier giant star or a huge gas cloud rather than a regular (main sequence) star,” said the study co-authors. Sakiko Obuchiobservational astronomer at Waseda University in Tokyo told Live Science in an email. Obuchi added that such a super-Eddington period could be incredibly short-lived, as “this transition period is expected to last about 300 years.”
ID830 also displays radio and X-ray emissions simultaneously. These two features are not expected to coexist, especially since super-Eddington accretion is thought to suppress such emissions. “This unexpected combination suggests a physical mechanism for extreme accretion and jet launch that is not yet fully captured by current models,” the researchers said in their paper. statement.
So while ID830 fires massive radio jets, its X-ray emissions appear to come from a structure called the corona, produced when a powerful magnetic field from the accretion disk generates a thin but turbulent billion-degree cloud of turbocharged particles. These particles orbit around the black hole at nearly the speed of light. phone call from NASA “One of the most extreme physical environments in the universe.”
Framework of early galaxy evolution
Taken together, ID830’s rule-breaking behavior suggests that ID830 is in a rare transition period of excessive consumption and excretion. This incredible feeding burst provides energy to both the jet and the corona, causing ID830 to shine brightly across multiple wavelengths while spewing out an excess of radiation.
Additionally, based on UV brightness analysis, quasars like ID830 may be unexpectedly common, the researchers said. Models predict that only about 10% of quasars have impressive radio jets, but these high-energy objects may be much more abundant in the early Universe than previously suggested.
Most importantly, ID830 shows how SMBH can control the growth of galaxies in the early universe. If a black hole swallows matter at the super-Eddington limit, the energy from the resulting emission could heat the matter and disperse it throughout the universe. interstellar medium — Interstellar gas — suppresses star formation. As a result, ancient SMBHs like ID830 may have grown to giant size at the expense of their host galaxies.
brandon specter
“If super Eddington black holes are more common than we think, that probably means there are still major gaps in our understanding of how objects in the early universe formed. This discovery adds to the ever-growing body of knowledge.” Evidence from the James Webb Space Telescope It shows that stars, galaxies and black holes in the ancient universe appear to be much larger and more mature than theory says. ”
Susumu Obuchi, Kazuya Ichikawa, Shin Yamada, Nao Kawa, Zhe Liu, Nao Matsumoto, Merloni A., Kazu Takahashi, Zaw I., Chen X., Hada K., Igo Z., Su H., Wolf J. (2026). Discovery of an X-ray emitting radio loud quasar at z = 3.4: Possibility of a transitional super-Eddington phase. astrophysical journal997(2), 156. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae1d6d