Supermassive Seeds for Supermassive Black Holes
Jarrett L. Johnson (LANL), Daniel J. Whalen (CMU, LANL), Hui Li (LANL), and Daniel E. Holz (U. of Chicago)

TL;DR
This paper argues that the initial seeds of supermassive black holes were likely much more massive than previously thought, favoring direct collapse models over Population III star remnants, based on feedback, accretion, and efficiency considerations.
Contribution
It provides a detailed analysis of early black hole seed formation, challenging the Population III model and supporting the direct collapse scenario through cosmological and observational evidence.
Findings
Seed black holes may have been > 10^5 solar masses.
Population III seed model is inconsistent with high radiative efficiencies.
Direct collapse scenario aligns with observed SMBH properties.
Abstract
Recent observations of quasars powered by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) out to z > 7 constrain both the initial seed masses and the growth of the most massive black holes (BHs) in the early universe. Here we elucidate the implications of the radiative feedback from early generations of stars and from BH accretion for popular models for the formation and growth of seed BHs. We show that by properly accounting for (1) the limited role of mergers in growing seed BHs as inferred from cosmological simulations of early star formation and radiative feedback, (2) the sub-Eddington accretion rates of BHs expected at the earliest times, and (3) the large radiative efficiencies (e_rad) of the most massive BHs inferred from observations of active galactic nuclei at high redshift (e_rad > 0.1), we are led to the conclusion that the initial BH seeds may have been as massive as > 10^5 M_Sun. This…
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