Original seeds of monster black holes detected, claim astronomers

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In what could be called as a major step ahead in gauging how supermassive black holes were born after the Big Bang, a team of researchers has spotted two objects in the early Universe that seem to be the origin of these cosmic giants.

"Black hole seeds are extremely hard to find and confirming their detection is very difficult. However, we think our research has uncovered the two best candidates so far," said Andrea Grazian, study co-author from National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy.

The researchers believe that the newly identified objects represent the most promising black hole seed candidates found so far.

The group used computer models and applied a new analysis method to data from the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope to find and identify the two objects. 

Both of these newly discovered black hole seed candidates are seen less than a billion years after the Big Bang and have an initial mass of about 100, 000 times the Sun.

"Our discovery, if confirmed, would explain how these monster black holes were born," lead author of the study Fabio Pacucci from Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, noted.

(With IANS inputs)