Formation channels of supermassive black hole seeds

Determine which formation channels produce supermassive black hole seeds in the early Universe, distinguishing among light (Population III remnants), intermediate (runaway stellar collisions in dense clusters), and heavy (direct gas collapse) seeds, and quantify their initial masses and formation environments.

Background

The paper surveys three commonly proposed channels for the origin of supermassive black hole (SMBH) seeds: light seeds from Population III stellar remnants, intermediate-mass seeds from runaway stellar collisions, and heavy seeds from direct gas collapse. Although the simulations here do not aim to solve this problem, the authors explicitly note that the origin channel remains an open question impacting early SMBH growth scenarios and initial conditions for cosmological models.