Key Observations

• The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected 9 sources of bright blue ultraviolet light
• The sources are at a record distance: 6 with a redshift of z~17, 3 with z~25
• This corresponds to an age of the Universe of only 100-200 million years after the Big Bang
• In this era, according to accepted cosmological models, stars and galaxies should not have formed yet

The Scientific Problem

The detection of bright light from such an early epoch contradicts models of galaxy formation.

The gas in the Universe was too hot and did not have time to cool and collapse under the influence of dark matter to form the first stars in such a short period (less than 100-200 million years).

The observed objects are too bright and possibly too massive for their time.

The Proposed Hypothesis

To explain the anomaly, astrophysicists (Andrea Ferrara et al.) have proposed the hypothesis of primordial black holes (PBHs).

PBHs could have formed in the first seconds after the Big Bang from quantum fluctuations during the period of inflation.

By the age of 100-200 million years, by absorbing surrounding gas, these initially tiny (the size of an atom) PBHs could have reached a mass of ~10,000 solar masses.

The absorbed gas heats up to extreme temperatures and glows brightly, which could explain the observed UV radiation.

Thus, the first sources of light in the Universe might not have been stars, but actively accreting black holes.

Confirmation and Uncertainties

Confirmation required: The redshift of the candidates (z~17 and z~25) needs to be confirmed with spectroscopy.

Source sizes: JWST data show that ~30% of the candidates appear point-like (consistent with PBHs), while the other 70% are extended (closer to galaxies).

Other implications: PBHs could have been the "seeds" for supermassive black holes at the centers of early galaxies.

Alternatives: The objects could be data contaminants or may require a revision of evolutionary models.

Hypothesis verification: Studies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are needed to look for traces of PBHs.

Conclusion

JWST observations challenge our understanding of the "cosmic dawn." Either galaxies formed incredibly quickly (requiring a revision of physics), or the first sources of light were primordial black holes. The answer will come from future spectroscopic observations and CMB analysis.