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An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University has discovered a larger number of black holes in the early universe than previously recorded. Using the NASA Hubble Space Telescope, the team discovered black holes between faint galaxies that formed shortly after the Big Bang. These findings could help scientists understand how supermassive black holes formed and what role they play in the evolution of galaxies. Hubble’s data were collected from years of observations of the Ultra Deep Field region.
Supermassive black holes discovered in distant galaxies
One of the most important discoveries was the presence of supermassive black holes at the centers of several galaxies that formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang. These black holes have masses equal to billions of suns, much larger than what scientists had initially predicted.
Alice Young, a PhD student at Stockholm University and co-author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, noted that these black holes either formed as extremely massive objects or grew rapidly in the early universe.
Observing black holes through variations in brightness
The research team re-imaged the same area over several years using Hubble, allowing them to measure changes in the brightness of galaxies. These changes are signals of black holes flickering as they swallow material in bursts. Matthew Hayes, lead author and professor at Stockholm University, explained that these findings help improve models of how both black holes and galaxies grow and interact over time.
Implications for understanding galaxy formation
The research suggests that black holes likely formed from the collapse of massive stars in the first billion years of the universe. These findings provide a clearer picture of the evolution of black holes and galaxies, which can now be better understood through more accurate scientific models.
