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How Can a Supermassive Black Hole Form in a Galaxy Only 900 Million Years After the Big Bang?

-- | March 26, 2015

Question: It is a challenging research topics to search how supermassive black holes formed at the early epoch. I am very much interested to do my future research on this topic. Could how please tell me what can be possible solution for this problem? How can SMBH formed at early epoch? — Anirban

Answer: The discovery of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in a quasar (a special kind of galaxy) which is at a redshift which places it at an age of only about 900 million years after the Big Bang certainly pushes the theory of the formation of SMBHs. One of the most popular theoretical scenarios associates the first massive black holes with the remnants of the first generation of stars in a galaxy. I believe, though, that the discovery of this very young SMBH means that the formation of black holes must happen over a much shorter timescale than previous believed.

Jeff Mangum

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