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HOW DO BLACK HOLES START?

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Title: HOW DO BLACK HOLES START?
Authors: NATARAJAN, PRIYAMVADA (AUTHOR)
Source: Scientific American. Spring/Summer2026 Special, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p44-49. 6p. 4 Color Photographs, 1 Diagram.
Subjects: Supermassive black holes, Black holes, Quasars, Gravitational waves, Stellar populations, Inflationary universe, Infrared astronomy
Abstract: This article focuses on the puzzle of how the earliest supermassive black holes grew to enormous sizes so soon after the big bang, powering ancient quasars observed less than 500 million years after cosmic origin. Traditional theories propose that these black holes formed from the remnants of the first massive stars (Population III stars) but struggle to explain their rapid growth within the limited time available, given constraints like the Eddington accretion rate. An alternative hypothesis, the direct-collapse black hole (DCBH) model, suggests that massive black hole seeds (10^4–10^6 solar masses) formed directly from gas in irradiated, starless primordial disks, enabling faster growth to supermassive scales. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and future gravitational wave observatories like LISA are expected to provide observational evidence to test these scenarios, which have implications for understanding black hole–galaxy coevolution and early cosmic structure formation. [Extracted from the article]
Copyright of Scientific American is the property of Scientific American and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Scientific+American%22">Scientific American</searchLink>. Spring/Summer2026 Special, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p44-49. 6p. 4 Color Photographs, 1 Diagram.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Supermassive+black+holes%22">Supermassive black holes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Black+holes%22">Black holes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quasars%22">Quasars</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gravitational+waves%22">Gravitational waves</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stellar+populations%22">Stellar populations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inflationary+universe%22">Inflationary universe</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Infrared+astronomy%22">Infrared astronomy</searchLink>
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  Data: This article focuses on the puzzle of how the earliest supermassive black holes grew to enormous sizes so soon after the big bang, powering ancient quasars observed less than 500 million years after cosmic origin. Traditional theories propose that these black holes formed from the remnants of the first massive stars (Population III stars) but struggle to explain their rapid growth within the limited time available, given constraints like the Eddington accretion rate. An alternative hypothesis, the direct-collapse black hole (DCBH) model, suggests that massive black hole seeds (10^4–10^6 solar masses) formed directly from gas in irradiated, starless primordial disks, enabling faster growth to supermassive scales. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and future gravitational wave observatories like LISA are expected to provide observational evidence to test these scenarios, which have implications for understanding black hole–galaxy coevolution and early cosmic structure formation. [Extracted from the article]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Scientific American is the property of Scientific American and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=193910873
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Supermassive black holes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Black holes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Quasars
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      – SubjectFull: Gravitational waves
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stellar populations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Inflationary universe
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      – SubjectFull: Infrared astronomy
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      – TitleFull: HOW DO BLACK HOLES START?
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              Text: Spring/Summer2026 Special
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