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Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found the oldest pair of supermassive black hole-powered quasars, seen 900 million years after the Big Bang.
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered the oldest pair of supermassive black hole-powered quasars ever seen, designated J1602+4228AB and nicknamed Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua. The pair is seen as it was 900 million years after the Big Bang, during a period known as Cosmic Dawn.
The two quasars are separated by 18,100 light-years, roughly one-fifth the diameter of the Milky Way. Their black holes have masses of 1.5 billion and 400 million times that of the sun. This makes Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua the most compact quasar pair found during Cosmic Dawn.
"There is no definitive theoretical explanation for how a single one of these giant quasars exists so early in the age of our universe, much less two," research team leader Silvia Onorato of the NOIRLab said in a statement.
"We observed Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua at a time when the universe was only a thirteenth of its age and, astonishingly, its supermassive black holes are just as massive as those we see today."
The discovery came from data in the JWST's Aether survey, which is conducting a census of objects in the early universe. Using JWST's NIRSpec instrument, the survey has uncovered 200 quasars, just under half of all currently known early universe quasars. While browsing the Aether dataset, the team found that quasar J1602+4228A had a companion now designated J1602+4228B.
Definitive confirmation required observations with the GNIRS infrared spectrograph on the ground-based Gemini North telescope, located on Maunakea in Hawaii. Exceptionally transparent skies and ideal observing conditions over two nights made the observations successful. Additional data from the GMOS optical spectrograph allowed the team to refine the system's characteristics.
Current models suggest black holes should need at least 1 billion years to feed and merge enough to reach masses millions or billions of times that of the sun. Since beginning operations in 2022, the JWST has routinely discovered supermassive black holes powering quasars as early as 400 million years after the Big Bang. The discovery of Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua, described as the third quasar pair seen at Cosmic Dawn, challenges current models of black hole growth.
"Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua is a really unique environment," Onorato said. "It's a laboratory for astronomers to study how the very first massive galaxies and their central black holes assembled together through direct galaxy interactions during these early times."
The team's results were published on Tuesday (Nov. 10) in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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