Einstein, tea leaves, meandering rivers, and the origin of supermassive black holes in ekpyrotic universe

Abstract

Central supermassive black holes are found in most massive galaxies. However, their origin is still poorly understood. Observations of quasars show that many supermassive black holes existed less than 700 million years after the Big Bang. To explain the existence of such black holes with masses comparable to the stellar mass of the host galaxy, just 500 million years after the Big Bang, it is probably necessary to assume that they originated from heavy seeds. In an ekpyrotic universe, a hot Big Bang occurs as a result of the collision of two branes. Quantum fluctuations create ripples on the brane surfaces, leading to spatial variations in the timing of collisions, thereby creating density perturbations that can facilitate the formation of massive black hole seeds. I hypothesize that perhaps Rayleigh–Bénard–Marangoni-type convection in the extra dimension is a more efficient source of macroscopic density perturbations than quantum fluctuations.