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The quasar J1601+3102, emitting radio jets 200 light-years away, challenges theories about the evolution of the early universe.
Quasars — some of the brightest objects in the universe, fed by supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies — emit powerful radio jets, changing space. The detected quasar J1601+3102, which astronomers observe as it was 12,5 billion years ago, emitted jets of energy more than 200 thousand light years long. This discovery contradicts previous ideas about limiting jet propagation due to interaction with relict radiation.
Radio jets J1601+3102 were detected at a frequency of 144 MHz using the LOFAR radio telescope. They consist of charged particles ejected from the accretion disk of a black hole at nearly the speed of light. Researchers assume that the unique conditions of quasar formation made it possible to avoid the loss of energy characteristic of other similar objects.
A study of the spectrum of the quasar using the GNIRS infrared spectrograph showed that the mass of the central black hole is 450 million solar masses. Despite its relatively small size, this black hole grew at a rapid rate, accreting matter to about half of the Eddington limit. This shows that the creation of powerful jets does not always depend on particularly massive black holes.
The discovery also suggests a more important role for radio jets in the formation of galaxies and magnetic fields in the early universe. Further observations with the help of new generation radio telescopes, such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), may provide an unprecedented view of the evolution of the Universe in its "infancy".
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