A team of astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered a supermassive black hole in the early universe that appears to be feeding at a rate far beyond the theoretical limit.
The discovery of this exceptional “eater” suggests that some black holes can temporarily exceed their theoretical feeding limits, known as the Eddington limit, thereby growing extremely rapidly for short periods.
This limit regulates the rate at which a black hole can absorb matter depending on its luminosity. However, LID-568 appears to “swallow” matter at more than 40 times this limit, he notes Noi.md with reference to .
“This black hole is in for a treat,” said astronomer Julia Scharwächter. “This extreme case shows that a fast feeding mechanism that exceeds the Eddington limit is a possible explanation for the existence of these very massive black holes since the early universe.”
During the observations, the researchers identified never-before-seen gas flows surrounding the black hole. The speed and size of these flows indicated a massive feeding episode, where the cosmic monster consumed matter far beyond its Eddington limit.
