Overview
- The University of Copenhagen–led team, including Vadim Rusakov and Darach Watson, analyzed JWST spectra of dozens of objects and reported the results in Nature.
- Ionized gas cocoons absorb and reprocess ultraviolet and X‑ray emission, producing the red infrared signatures and explaining the lack of expected X‑ray and radio detections.
- Reinterpreted spectra lower inferred black hole masses by roughly a factor of 10–100 to about 100,000–10 million solar masses, consistent with standard growth models.
- The study argues these objects are in a rapid, near‑Eddington accretion phase that helps explain how supermassive black holes appeared within the first billion years.
- Researchers note the sample size is limited and call for larger JWST samples plus X‑ray and radio follow‑ups, as some alternatives—including massive early stars—are still being explored.