The JWST May Have Found Where Heavy Black Hole Seeds Formed

Astrophysicists have found evidence that dense stellar clusters at high redshifts, observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), may be the birthplaces of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). The study, titled "Massive star clusters detected by JWST as natural birth places to form intermediate-mass black holes," suggests that these clusters, which are part of the Cosmic Gems and Firefly Sparkle, could have formed IMBHs through runaway collisions and mass-loss by stellar winds. The clusters have masses in the range 105 to 107 solar masses and are compact, making them ideal for IMBH formation. The research estimates IMBH masses in the range 10² to 4 × 10³ solar masses, with the Cosmic Gems yielding the heaviest IMBHs, up to 2700 solar masses.

The findings are based on the observation of five dense star clusters in the Cosmic Gems arc and ten in the Firefly Sparkle, both of which are gravitationally lensed galaxies. These clusters are at high redshifts, meaning they formed early in the universe’s history. The clusters have low metallicity, which limits mass loss due to stellar winds, allowing the clusters to grow and form IMBHs. The results show that these clusters may have been the sites of IMBH formation, potentially leading to the supermassive black holes observed in the centers of galaxies today.

The research indicates that the IMBH masses in these clusters are comparable to those formed by the first stars, known as Population III stars, which were extremely massive. However, the upper bound of the IMBH masses is significantly higher, allowing the most massive clusters to form heavy seeds that could eventually become SMBHs. The study also suggests that these dense, metal-poor clusters could be the source of the heavy seed IMBHs that eventually form SMBHs. The results do not directly observe IMBHs but provide a plausible environment for their formation and could explain the JWST's Little Red Dots, whose spectra are often interpreted as powered by SMBHs.

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