SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE CHALLENGES CURRENT ASTROPHYSICAL MODELS

GS3 – SCIENCE & TECH

Discovery of LID-568

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers identified a unique black hole, LID-568, consuming matter at 40 times the predicted rate.

Understanding Supermassive Black Holes

• Found in most galaxies, often at their centers, with masses ranging from millions to billions of solar masses.
• Example: Sagittarius A*, at the Milky Way’s center, is 4.3 million times the Sun’s mass.
• Their rapid growth mechanisms remain unresolved.

About LID-568

• Location: A low-mass supermassive black hole from 1.5 billion years post-Big Bang.
• Mass: 10 million times that of the Sun.
• Growth Rate: Exceeds the Eddington limit, suggesting super-Eddington accretion.
• Origins: Potentially a primordial black hole formed from early gas clouds or stellar explosions.

Eddington Limit and Feeding Mechanism

• Defines the maximum rate of accretion before radiation pressure counterbalances gravitational pull.
• LID-568’s growth rate, far beyond this limit, challenges traditional accretion models.

Significance and Implications

• LID-568’s behavior questions established black hole formation theories.
• Suggests mass accumulation through brief, intense feeding episodes rather than sustained accretion, offering new insights into early-universe black hole evolution.