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Study Links Supermassive Black Hole Growth Slowdown to Galaxy Evolution

4/3/2026

32 7 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Pennsylvania State University researchers, led by Zhibo Yu, report a slowdown in supermassive black hole growth for redshifts under 2.
Growth peaked 9.5–10.5 billion years ago at Cosmic Noon.
They propose three causes: slower accretion, smaller typical supermassive black hole masses, or fewer actively accreting black holes.
They attribute the slowdown to a decline in available cold gas, linking black hole growth to galaxy coevolution.

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Story summary

Pennsylvania State University researchers, led by Zhibo Yu, report a slowdown in supermassive black hole growth for redshifts under 2.
Growth peaked 9.5–10.5 billion years ago at Cosmic Noon.
They propose three causes: slower accretion, smaller typical supermassive black hole masses, or fewer actively accreting black holes.
They attribute the slowdown to a decline in available cold gas, linking black hole growth to galaxy coevolution.