New discovery about supermassive black holes redefines cosmic evolution

Astronomers have recently unveiled a new discovery about supermassive blackholes in research study, challenging the models of cosmic growth.

Supermassive black holes may not be as gigantic as previously assumed by scientists, leading to discovery that can redefine cosmic evolution.

The revelation was made by researchers from the University of Southampton in collaboration with scientists from Germany, France, Belgium, and Portugal after studying a galaxy, an ancient quasar, 12 billion light-years from Earth for the very first time.

By using a powerful telescope, the team found that the supermassive black hole in the aforementioned galaxy was 10 times smaller than expected, demonstrating a significant shift from early overstated sizes of black holes.

According to Professor Seb Hoeing, these findings published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, solve the mystery about the size of supermassive black as previously scientists were puzzled how a black hole could enlarge to such colossal size in short time spans.

“We have been wondering for years how it’s possible we discovered all these fully grown supermassive black holes in very young galaxies shortly after the Big Bang. They shouldn’t have had the time to grow that massive,” Hoeing said.

“Our results suggest the methods to weigh these black holes used previously are just not working reliably in the early universe. It could lead to a re-evaluation of our models of cosmic evolution,” he added.

As per their results, the intense radiation emitted from the quasar is responsible for blasting most of the gas away. Consequently, black hole failed to achieve mass as quickly as previously presumed.

Prof Hoenig explained, “Most of the gas falling towards the supermassive black hole is being violently blasted away rather than feeding it. The intense radiation around it is blowing everything away that approaches it.”