Scientists have found the “hungriest” black hole that is “feasting” on matter faster than experts previously thought possible.
Found by researchers from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Chandra X-ray Observatory, the black hole – called LID-568 – has gained more than seven million solar masses in just 12 million years.
Julia Scharwächter of the International Gemini Observatory, who also co-authored the study, said: “This black hole is having a feast.”
Scientists have for years been puzzled by galaxies containing black holes, with billions of solar masses contained within them.
It is unknown how the solar masses grow, but now the researchers from JWST and Chandra have been able to observe the growth process.
The black hole was found when scientists observed X-ray-emitting objects in the universe.
X-rays are a byproduct of gas being pulled into a black hole’s gravitational field.
Scientists have previously used the Eddington limit to help understand black holes.
The Eddington limit, named after British astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington, is the maximum luminosity a star can achieve when the force of radiation pushing outward is balanced by the force of gravity pulling inward.
At a certain point, the two forces grow so strong that the star or black hole is destroyed.
Scientists are now looking into whether LID-568 is breaking the laws of physics. The short answer is not necessarily.
Ms Scharwächter said: “This extreme case shows that a fast-feeding mechanism above the Eddington limit is one of the possible explanations for why we see these very heavy black holes so early in the universe”
The International Gemini Observatory’s Hyewon Suh led a team of astronomers who carried out research into the black hole.
She said: “The discovery of a super-Eddington accreting black hole suggests that a significant portion of mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding, regardless of whether the black hole originated from a light or heavy seed.”
The new study was published online on November 4 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
