The Dawn of Black Holes

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current understanding of the formation, growth, and observational study of early supermassive black holes, highlighting open questions and future prospects in astrophysics.

Contribution

It synthesizes recent theoretical and observational advances in understanding the origins and evolution of black holes within the first billion years after the Big Bang.

Findings

Black holes formed rapidly in the early universe.

X-ray observations provide insights into black hole growth.

Future gravitational-wave detectors will enhance understanding of black hole origins.

Abstract

In the last decades, luminous accreting super-massive black holes have been discovered within the first Gyr after the Big Bang, but their origin is still an unsolved mystery. We discuss our state-of-the-art theoretical knowledge of their formation physics and early growth, and describe the results of dedicated observational campaigns in the X-ray band. We also provide an overview of how these systems can be used to derive cosmological parameters. Finally, we point out some open issues, in light of future electro-magnetic and gravitational-wave astronomical facilities.