Image Details
Caption: Figure 4.
Following A. J. Taylor et al. (2025), we present the redshifts and BH masses from our simulations, along with the population of spectroscopically confirmed quasars at z > 6. We also include a simple growth model for 102 M⊙ (blue shading) and 104 M⊙ (red shading) BH seeds accreting at the Eddington limit. A vertical black dotted line marks the transition from the super-Eddington accretion phase to the self-regulation phase. By z ∼ 10, the SMBH in the steadier, Eddington-limited scenario surpasses its initially super-Eddington jump-start counterpart in mass, indicating that the Eddington-limited mode provides the fastest sustainable pathway for SMBH growth. To account for the ≳109 M⊙ quasars observed at z = 7–10, seed BHs with initial masses of 104–105 M⊙ are required.
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.