Hunting for supermassive black holes in the early universe

Observations in the past few decades have revealed that every galaxy harbors a SMBH in the center, and that the black hole mass is almost always one-thousandth of the host galaxy mass. This close relationship implies that galaxies and SMBHs have co-evolved together. Revealing the origin of SMBHs is thus crucial not only to understand SMBHs themselves, but also to elucidate the formation processes of galaxies, the major constituents of the visible universe.

In order to close in on the origin of SMBHs, we need to observe them and compare their properties with predictions fromWe used the Subaru Telescope at the top of Maunakea, Hawaii, for the present study. One of the biggest advantages of Subaru is its widefield observing capability, which is particularly suited for our purpose.

The large number of quasars we discovered has allowed us to determine the most fundamental measure called the"luminosity function," which describes the space density of quasars as a function of radiation energy. We found that quasars were forming very rapidly in the early universe, while the overall shape of the luminosity function (except for the amplitude) remained unchanged over time.

This characteristic behavior of the luminosity function provides strong constraints on theoretical models, which could ultimately reproduce all the observables and describe the origin of SMBHs. Our study is published inOn the other hand, the universe was known to have experienced a major phase transition called"cosmic reionization" in its early stage. Past observations suggest that the whole intergalactic space was ionized in this event.

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Dear Erica Mena, You Can’t Co-Opt Black Culture & Hate Black WomenOn a recent episode of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, Erica Mena screamed “You monkey, you blue monkey” to Spice. The animalized anti-Black slur never seems too far from the lips of non-Black Latinas. Many use their proximity to Blackness as a ruse to gain success while fostering anti-Black values.
Source: Refinery29 - 🏆 26. / 68 Read more »

A smoking gun for supermassive binaries in active galactic nucleiAn international research team led by Silke Britzen from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, has investigated blazars, accreting supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. Blazars show up when one of the emitted jets in the active galactic nucleus is pointing directly towards the Earth.
Source: physorg_com - 🏆 388. / 55 Read more »

'Twisty' new theory of gravity says information can escape black holes after allEinstein's theory of relativity say black holes are 'bald', but a new tweak to his research may give the mysterious objects their long-sought 'hair.'
Source: LiveScience - 🏆 538. / 51 Read more »

As Idalia hit Florida, all of NOAA’s hurricane-hunting planes were groundedThe planes’ troubles have raised concerns about the availability of one key forecasting tool ahead of what’s shaping up to be an active hurricane season.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 15. / 72 Read more »

Iceland says commercial whaling can resume after temporary banIceland's government says commercial hunting of fin whales can resume in the country with stricter requirements on hunting methods and increased supervision
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »

Iceland says commercial whaling can resume after temporary banIceland's government says commercial hunting of fin whales can resume in the country with stricter requirements on hunting methods and increased supervision.
Source: ksatnews - 🏆 442. / 53 Read more »