Overview
- The Nature study led by University of Copenhagen researchers analyzed JWST infrared spectra for about 30 objects and concludes the sources are rapidly accreting supermassive black holes.
- Reinterpreting the emission lowers inferred black hole masses by roughly 10–100 times to a few million to about 10 million solar masses.
- The cocoons absorb ultraviolet and X‑ray output and re‑emit at redder wavelengths, explaining the dots’ color and compact appearance.
- These objects appear a few hundred million years after the Big Bang and largely fade from view by roughly one billion years, consistent with a brief growth phase near the Eddington limit.
- Hundreds of candidates remain to be tested, with teams planning broader spectral samples and X‑ray/radio follow‑up as alternative models, including massive Population III star scenarios, continue to be evaluated.