Black Holes or Galaxies: Which Came First?

Black holes have existed since the dawn of time, but they have also sparked the birth of new stars and a supercharged formation of galaxies, suggests a new analysis of data from the James Webb Space Telescope. This discovery, led by a researcher from the CNRS Earth & Universe, overturns theories on how black holes shape the cosmos and our understanding of galaxy formation.


The findings challenge the classic understanding that black holes formed after the emergence of the first stars and galaxies. Instead, they may have significantly accelerated the birth of new stars in the Universe's first 50 million years, a brief period in its 13.8-billion-year history. Black holes could have acted as gigantic amplifiers of star formation.

Observed via the Webb Telescope, the distant galaxies from the Universe's early days appear much brighter than scientists had predicted, revealing an unusually high number of young stars and supermassive black holes. Black holes and galaxies coexisted and mutually influenced each other over the first 100 million years. If the Universe's history were a 12-month calendar, these years would represent the early days of January.

The outflows and jets from black holes crushed nearby gas clouds, transforming them into stars and significantly accelerating their formation rate. This missing link explains why these early observed galaxies are brighter than expected.

Reference:
Joseph Silk et al. 2024 ApJL 961 L39. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad1bf0