A new paper proposes that ultralight dark matter may have played a crucial role in the formation of massive black holes in the early universe, potentially altering our understanding of these cosmic phenomena. Researchers suggest that the presence of superlight dark matter could have led to the collapse of gas clouds into giant black holes before the first stars formed, bypassing the conventional process of stellar death and supernova explosions.
Dark matter, a mysterious substance making up approximately 27% of the universe’s mass-energy density, is thought to contribute to the formation of massive galaxies by providing the gravitational scaffolding for galaxy growth. Dark matter’s existence was proposed by Swiss astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky in 1933. However, while its existence has been confirmed through various methods, including gravitational lensing and the cosmic microwave background radiation, the nature of dark matter remains an open question.
Recent studies using cutting-edge telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed truly gigantic black holes that appeared in the relatively young universe just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. These massive black holes are billions of times more massive than our sun and pose significant puzzles regarding their origins, as there is not enough time for the first stars to appear, die, and then consume material to create smaller supermassive black holes.
Some researchers propose that dark matter may have kicked-started this process by introducing high-energy ultraviolet radiation into gas clouds. However, if we consider one model of ultralight dark matter with masses much lighter than the neutrino – even billions of times lighter – this light is thought to interact like a quantum ocean, containing vast regions of varying density.
A team led by astrophysicist Hao Jiao from McGill University suggests that such “oceans” could support waves in galactic scales. Regions with higher dark matter density would result in the creation of high-energy photons through resonance. This process allowed for gas clouds to collapse directly into seeds of massive black holes before the first stars formed, altering our understanding of how these enormous cosmic objects emerged.
The model’s accuracy relies on stringent constraints on the mass and efficiency limits of ultralight dark matter. While the initial results are intriguing, the work remains preliminary, and a thorough evaluation is needed to verify its validity. Researchers will soon investigate this hypothesis further through more sophisticated simulations of early universe conditions.
Source: https://www.space.com/the-universe/black-holes/ultralight-dark-matter-may-have-helped-monstrous-black-holes-form-in-the-early-universe