(ORDO NEWS) — How did supermassive black holes (SMBH) form? In an alternative model of the formation of the universe (in relation to the model outlined in most textbooks), the team of astronomers suggests that both of these mysteries of the cosmos can be explained by the so-called “primordial black holes.”
Nico Cappelluti and his colleagues believe that black holes existed at the dawn of the universe, and that these primordial black holes may represent the very mysterious substance that we call dark matter.
“Black holes of various sizes are still a mystery to us. We do not understand how SMBHs could have grown to such gigantic proportions in the relatively short time that has passed since the formation of the universe, ”explained Günther Hasinger, one of Cappelluti’s co-authors.
At the other end of the range of possible sizes of black holes are the smallest black holes, which, in particular, are indicated by observations made with the Gaia satellite (“Gaia”) of the European Space Agency. If such objects exist, then their masses are too small to admit the likelihood of the formation of these black holes from dying stars.
“Our research shows that without introducing new particles or new physics, we can solve the problems of modern cosmology, ranging from the nature of the darkest matter to the origin of SMBH,” said Cappelluti.
If most black holes formed in the Universe immediately after the Big Bang, then they could begin to merge in the early Universe, forming more and more massive black holes over time.
The European Space Agency’s LISA next-generation gravitational-wave observatory will be able to receive signals from such collisions, if primordial black holes do exist. Small black holes, according to this scenario, are primordial black holes that have not yet had time to form larger structures.
According to this model, the entire universe is filled with black holes. Stars could begin to form around these clumps of “dark matter”, forming solar systems and galaxies over billions of years. If the first stars did form around primordial black holes, then they should have appeared in the Universe earlier than expected from the “standard” model.
The European mission Euclid, which will observe the “dark universe” in unprecedented detail, could play an important role in identifying primordial black holes for a possible explanation of the dark matter phenomenon, Cappelluti said.
NASA / ESA / CSA’s recently launched space telescope James Webb is a “time machine” that will peer into the past of our Universe about 13 billion years ago, and will also help to obtain valuable information that can shed new light to this secret of our world, the authors noted.
The work was published in the Astrophysical Journal.
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