Scientists have come up with a new theory that could help better understand the universe's formation of quasars, bright objects in galaxies that contain supermassive black holes. The theory is that obese black-hole galaxies (OGBs) could contain black holes that are so massive, the radiation from them would overwhelm the stars that exist within that galaxy.
The research behind the new theory indicates some of the brightest quasars that can be seen from Earth were once OBGs. Over time, something unknown lit up the black holes at the center of the quasars and made them start to pump out energy that can be seen from Earth. This would indicate there could be a million of these OBGs in the universe but, for some reason, we cannot see them.
According to Space.com, a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany has been studying to try and discover the reason humans cannot see these OBGs from Earth.
"People have hypothesized there could be these black holes forming from this metal-free gas reservoir... which is completely free of stars," said Bhaskar Agarwal, a doctoral research fellow who let the research team.
What this means is, black holes in OBGs form separately from their surrounding stars. Earlier findings from astronomers suggested galaxies that have black holes at their center evolve along with their surrounding stars, contrary to this new theory.
This would all indicate the existence of many OBGs in the universe. Due to the fact black holes are only seen through X-rays they produce when they suck up matter, they would be invisible to humans through conventional means of looking. If OBGs don't suck up matter, the black hole would remain invisible.
If an OBG's black hole is in fact active, the spectral energy distribution could be seen by the James Webb Space Telescope, which can see into the near and mid-infrared spectra but that won't be making its way into orbit until at least 2018.
