This black hole should not exist. If its mass is confirmed, astronomers will be in trouble

Astronomers write about attempts to solve this puzzle in: Astronomy NatureAs they explained, they observed a black hole with a mass more than a billion times that of the Sun. There would be nothing strange about this were it not for the fact that this object is less than 770 million years after the Big Bang. This is a very massive black hole if its age is determined correctly.

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The matter became more mysterious thanks to the data provided by the Webb Telescope. Although the existence of J1120+0641 has been known for about thirteen years, only advanced instrumentation of this equipment has allowed a better understanding of the situation. The irony is that the supermassive black hole at the center of said galaxy appears completely ordinary.

Of course, a very high mass in relation to the age of this object still exists, but in other respects, this is quite normal. It is known that it is a quasar whose central point is in the form of a black hole that derives its energy from huge amounts of matter. It comes from a cloud of gas and dust that is heated by gravity. This is the exceptional brightness coming from the accretion disk.

However, it should be noted that there are certain limits to the rate at which matter can fall into a black hole. It is determined by the so-called Eddington limit, beyond which matter becomes so bright that the radiation pressure will exceed the force of gravity, ejecting material and depriving the black hole of its dinner.

Astronomers believe that this limit could be briefly exceeded. During this superaccretion phase, the black hole in J1120+0641 would have had a massive increase in mass in a relatively short time. This may have been the case for other black holes that formed shortly after the Big Bang. Unfortunately, high-resolution observations with the James Webb Space Telescope have not shown any signs that could confirm this superaccretion.

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So what could have happened? For now, astronomers are helplessly throwing their hands up their sleeves, although they have some hypotheses up their sleeves. According to one, supermassive black holes from the beginning of the Universe were formed from “seeds” much larger than they are today. Thanks to this, their mass was huge from the beginning, and further growth rates did not have to exceed known limits. Further observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and its successors should allow a final solution to this extraordinary puzzle.