James Webb telescope spots 'impossible' black holes, mystery tied to rare dark matter

A recent study has uncovered a possible explanation for the rapid formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe. By proposing a new physics model, researchers suggest that dark matter played a crucial role in this process.

Dark Matter: The Key to Understanding Early Black Holes
Dark matter remains one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics. Although invisible, it forms the backbone of galaxy structure. The standard model assumes dark matter only interacts through gravity, but this framework struggles to explain the rapid growth of supermassive black holes.

The researchers introduced the idea of ultra self-interacting dark matter. Unlike normal dark matter, this form interacts strongly with itself, allowing it to clump together in galactic centres. This concentration could lead to the formation of black hole seeds, which would grow quickly in the early universe.

A group of astronomers analysed data from the James Webb Space Telescope, examining multiple surveys to create one of the largest collections of “little red dots” (LRDs) so far. They began with the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey and later expanded their research to other extragalactic legacy fields, such as the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) and the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Public (NGDEEP) survey. (Image: NASA)