JWST and ALMA Uncover Dusty, Rapidly Growing Supermassive Black Hole in Early Universe

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA have identified a dust-reddened quasar, J1440+0019, from when the universe was under a billion years old. At redshift 6.5488, it hosts a supermassive black hole of about 1.1 billion solar masses, rapidly accreting material. The study, posted to arXiv on Oct. 9, sheds light on how such massive black holes formed so early in cosmic history. The object's dust obscuration suggests a phase of intense star formation and black hole growth, challenging models of early quasar evolution. This discovery highlights the power of combined infrared and submillimeter observations to pierce the dust and reveal the universe's infancy. Understanding these ancient giants may help explain the co-evolution of galaxies and their central black holes.