Fastest-Feeding Black Hole of Early Universe Discovered—Does It Defy Physics?

Astronomers have discovered the hungriest known black hole in the early universe, shedding new light on how these cosmic giants grew so massive so quickly. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have identified a black hole that has amassed more than seven million solar masses in just 12 million years—exceeding the theoretical growth rate.

"This black hole is having a feast," said Julia Scharwächter, a study co-author from the International Gemini Observatory.

This discovery addresses a longstanding mystery in astrophysics: how black holes in the early universe grew to billions of times the mass of the sun in such a short time. Previous observations by JWST and the Hubble Space Telescope have spotted black holes in early galaxies with masses far exceeding expectations, but the exact process behind

 their rapid growth has remained unclear.

Feeding Frenzy in the Early Universe

The newly discovered black hole, cataloged as LID-568, existed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. It was first identified in a Chandra survey of luminous X-ray-emitting objects. X-rays are produced when matter is gravitationally drawn into a black hole. As gas swirls into a hot disk around the black hole, it emits X-rays—more intense when the black hole consumes matter at a rapid pace.

However, there is a theoretical cap on the rate at which black holes can feed. This is known as the Eddington limit, which describes a balance between the infalling matter and the radiation pushing back against it. Above this limit, the accretion of material should slow or stop due to powerful feedback mechanisms.

But LID-568 has defied expectations. Follow-up observations using JWST's Integral Field Spectrograph revealed the black hole’s extreme feeding rate, with outflows moving at 500 to 600 kilometers per second. This feedback is estimated to be 40 times stronger than the Eddington limit.

Breaking the Laws of Physics?

Could LID-568 be violating the laws of physics? Not necessarily, say astronomers. "Super-Eddington" accretion, where a black hole consumes matter faster than the theoretical limit, has been observed before. Such bursts of rapid feeding can occur for short periods before feedback from the radiation blows the infalling material away.

"This extreme case shows that a fast-feeding mechanism above the Eddington limit is one of the possible explanations for why we see these very heavy black holes so early in the universe," Scharwächter added.

A Seed Growing Into a Giant

LID-568’s rapid growth could provide valuable insights into the early stages of black hole formation. The black hole likely began as a smaller "seed," potentially a stellar-mass black hole left behind after a massive star's death, or possibly as an intermediate-mass black hole formed from the collapse of a massive gas cloud. The team’s models suggest that LID-568 was likely a "light" seed of around 100 solar masses and began its feeding frenzy 12 million years ago within a giant molecular gas cloud that the black hole is now devouring.

"The discovery of a super-Eddington accreting black hole suggests that a significant portion of mass growth can occur during a single episode of rapid feeding, regardless of whether the black hole originated from a light or heavy seed," said Hyewon Suh, lead astronomer of the study.

What’s Next for LID-568?

While this burst of rapid accretion will not last forever, the black hole may continue to grow episodically. Even as the black hole completes its current "meal," the material ejected during the process could cool and fall back, potentially restarting the feeding cycle. At present, LID-568 is 7.2 million times the mass of the sun, significantly larger than Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, which weighs in at just 4.1 million solar masses.

LID-568 may be finishing its current feeding frenzy, but this hungry black hole could have more meals ahead of it. The study provides crucial clues about how black holes can grow to such enormous sizes so early in the history of the universe.

This new study was published in the Journal Nature Astronomy online on November 4.