Japanese supercomputer simulations may explain Webb's Little Red Dots

Japanese supercomputer simulations using the ATERUI III system have explained the nature of the Little Red Dots observed by the James Webb Space Telescope. The simulations show that the Little Red Dots are black holes growing at a rate impossible today due to early universe conditions. The study, published in Nature, used the supercomputer to simulate the early universe, starting with a galaxy and zooming in on gas clouds. The simulations revealed that in the early universe, intense far-ultraviolet radiation from nearby galaxies suppressed star formation, leading to the formation of a single supermassive star that collapses into a black hole seed. These black hole seeds are surrounded by dense gas disks, trapping radiation and enabling rapid growth. The simulated properties of these black holes match the Little Red Dots observed by JWST.

• The simulations were conducted by Sunmyon Chon and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.
• The supercomputer ATERUI III at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan was used for the most detailed cosmological simulations.
• The simulations show that black holes grow at rates dozens of times faster than in the modern universe.
• The results are consistent with the observed Little Red Dots, which are enigmatic and extremely red.

The study provides a natural explanation for the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe without requiring exotic assumptions. This is significant for understanding the ubiquity of Little Red Dots and how the cosmos evolved. The research offers a roadmap for future studies of the early universe and the formation of black holes.

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