James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

JWST studies the formation of supermassive black holes and their role in the early universe

According to the research team, "characterising the prevalence and properties of faint active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the early Universe is key for understanding the formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and determining their role in cosmic reionization". They identified what appear to be 20 SMBHs at redshift of 4.2 to 5.5 with ~10-100 million solar masses. Based on their redshift, they were around 12-12.5 billion light years when the light first left toward us, and due to the expamsion of the universe, they're over 20 billion light years away now. The team also uncovered "a strong correlation correlation between reddening and the fraction of total galaxy luminosity arising from faint AGN. This implies that early SMBH growth is highly obscured and that faint AGN are only minor contributors to cosmic reionization". The three phases that describe their sample of faint AGN are illustrated in the paper. First, it is dominated by star formation. Second, a transition into AGN. Third, dusty AGN dominates.