Has the James Web Space Telescope Discovered a New 'Black Hole Star'?

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected numerous so-called "little red dots" in its images, with astronomers proposing these may be a novel type of celestial object: a black hole star. This hypothetical object combines the luminosity of billions of suns with a black hole at its core. However, not everyone is convinced by this interpretation, as stated in Quanta magazine.

Two surveys of distant objects observed by the Webb telescope revealed these mysterious red dots, which exhibited unique spectral properties and brightness that did not align with typical stars or black holes. Two astronomers, de Graaff and Naidu, identified the two most unusual dots, arguing they represented a new phenomenon: a black hole star.

This hypothetical object would harness the power of a black hole while appearing similar to a star due to its intense brightness. The black hole star would draw in surrounding gas, heating it dramatically and emitting powerful radiation that would prevent the outer layers of hydrogen from collapsing inward, essentially serving as the "engine" of the star.

A recent study using the Japanese Supercomputer ATERUI III has attempted to explain the nature of these Little Red Dots through detailed cosmological simulations of conditions in the early universe. These simulations suggest that the red dots are actually black holes growing at a rate impossible today due to conditions in the early cosmos.

The intense far-ultraviolet radiation from nearby galaxies at the time suppressed star formation in gas clouds, leading to the formation of a single supermassive star that then collapsed into a black hole seed. This seed was surrounded by dense gas disks, trapping radiation and enabling the black hole to grow at an unprecedented rate.

The properties of these rapidly growing black holes align well with the characteristics of the observed Little Red Dots, providing a potential explanation for their existence.