83 Supermassive Black Holes Discovered in the Early Universe

 While they are prevalent in the modern Universe, it is unclear when they first formed, and how many existed in the early Universe. We cannot observe black holes directly, but when a large quantity of matter falls into a SMBH it releases energy as a bright light that can be seen from across the Universe. This phenomenon is known as a quasar. 

 

An artist impression of a quasar. A SMBH sits at the center, and the gravitational energy of material accreting onto the SMBH is released as light

Copyright : Yoshiki Matsuoka

The research team led by Yoshiki Matsuoka (Ehime University) used the Subaru Telescope to look for quasars in the distant Universe. The most distant quasar discovered by the team is 13.05 billion light-years away, which is tied for the second most distant SMBH ever discovered. Because of the finite speed of light, the light emitted from these objects located 13 billion light-years away must have traveled for 13 billion years to reach us. Thus, the light provides an image of how things looked when it was emitted 13 billion years ago, when the Universe was only five percent of its current age. The survey revealed 83 previously unknown very distant quasars; together with the 17 quasars already known in the survey region.

The 100 quasars identified from the HSC data. The top seven rows represent the 83 new discoveries, while the bottom two rows represent 17 previously known quasars in the survey area. They appear extremely red due to the cosmic expansion and absorption of light in intergalactic space. All the images were obtained by HSC.

Copyright : NAOJ

Previous studies have been sensitive only to the most luminous quasars, and thus the most massive black holes. The new discoveries probe the population of SMBH with masses characteristic of the most common ones seen in the modern Universe, and thus shed light on their origin. The survey has found that the average spacing between supermassive black holes is a billion light-years.

“The quasars we discovered will be an interesting subject for further follow-up observations with current and future facilities,” said Matsuoka. “We will also learn about the formation and early evolution of SMBHs, by comparing the measured number density and luminosity distribution with predictions from theoretical models.”

Funding was contributed by the FIRST program from Japanese Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Toray Science Foundation, NAOJ, Kavli IPMU, KEK, ASIAA, and Princeton University.
 

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Contacts and sources:

Hitoshi Yamaoka
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan