James Webb Telescope discovers potential young black holes

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided important insights into the early stages of galaxy formation in the universe. Among its discoveries are small, highly redshifted objects known as "little red dots" (LRDs). Scientists are investigating these mysterious objects to learn more about their nature. One key observation is that the gas emitting light from these objects is spinning at very high speeds, over 1,000 kilometers per second. This implies that they could be associated with supermassive black holes. These black holes are typically found in active galactic nuclei (AGN), but LRDs show unusual characteristics. They have a flat infrared spectrum and emit very little X-ray or radio light, differing from typical AGNs. A new study analyzed twelve LRDs using high-resolution spectra from the JWST. Researchers compared this data to theoretical models of supermassive black holes. They suggest that the black holes have rapidly spinning accretion disks and are surrounded by dense clouds of highly ionized gas. This gas absorbs much of the X-ray and radio emissions, making the LRDs appear bright mainly in the red and infrared light. For the LRDs to be bright, the black holes need to be feeding at nearly the maximum possible rate, known as the Eddington Limit. This means they are quickly growing and becoming more massive. The study estimates that these black holes have masses between 10,000 and 1,000,000 times that of our Sun, which is smaller than typical supermassive black holes. This model helps explain why we do not see LRDs in closer galaxies. As these black holes consume matter at such high rates, they may clear the ionized gas around them. Once this gas is gone, LRDs could start to resemble the familiar active galactic nuclei found throughout the universe.