The nature of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is a hot topic in space science. It appears that all large galaxies like ours host an SMBH in their centers, but how these behemoths grew so massive is not clear. Neither are their origins, though most researchers agree that mergers certainly play a role.
A new discovery is bolstering the idea that mergers are behind the evolution and growth of SMBHs. Astronomers working with the JWST have found three actively accreting black holes in a single galaxy. No triple black hole galaxy has ever been seen before, though instances of three interacting galaxies with SMBHs have been observed.
The discovery is presented in new research in Astronomy and Astrophysics titled "BlackTHUNDER: Evidence of three massive black holes in a z ∼ 5 galaxy." The lead author is Hannah Übler from the Max Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics. The term BlackTHUNDER refers to a JWST observing program called "Black holes in the early Universe and their dense surroundings."
The galaxy in question is named J0148-4214 and it's more than 12.5 billion light years away. The JWST observed it as it appeared about 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang. BlackTHUNDER was aimed at observing black holes this old, and the JWST used its NIRSpec Integrated Field Unit to detect the three actively accreting black holes.
They have solar masses of 80 million, 0.6 million, and 2 million. The first two are closest together while the third is more distant. "“The JWST data allowed us not only to identify the three black holes, but also to estimate their masses, accretion rates, and the stellar mass of the galaxy,” said Dr. Giovanni Mazzolari, second author of the study and researcher at MPE. “We find a total stellar mass of about 1.3 billion suns, and the black holes represent a significant fraction of that.”
Source: Universe Today
@EverythingScience
