James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Harvard ADS: What is the origin of the JWST SMBHs?

Paper abstract: We present a new semi-analytical model for the evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBHs) that is based on the extended Press-Schechter formalism and phenomenological modelling of star formation. The model yields BH mass-stellar mass relations that reproduce both the JWST and pre-JWST observations. If the efficiency for BH mergers is high the JWST data prefer light seeds while the pre-JWST data prefers heavy seeds. The fit improves for a smaller merger efficiency, O(0.1), for which both data prefer heavy seeds, while also accommodating the PTA GW background data.