Bhatt, MaulikMaulikBhattGallerani, SimonaSimonaGalleraniFerrara, AndreaAndreaFerraraMazzucchelli, ChiaraChiaraMazzucchelliD'ODORICO, ValentinaValentinaD'ODORICOVALENTINI, MILENAMILENAVALENTINIZana, TommasoTommasoZanaFarina, Emanuele PaoloEmanuele PaoloFarinaChakraborty, SrijaSrijaChakraborty2024-12-112024-12-1120240004-6361http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/35459Context. Observations of z ∼ 6 quasars powered by supermassive black holes (SMBHs; M<SUB>BH</SUB> ∼ 10<SUP>8 − 10</SUP> M<SUB>⊙</SUB>) challenge our current understanding of early black hole (BH) formation and evolution. The advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has enabled the study of massive BHs (MBHs; M<SUB>BH</SUB> ∼ 10<SUP>6 − 7</SUP> M<SUB>⊙</SUB>) up to z ∼ 11, thus bridging the properties of z ∼ 6 quasars to their ancestors. <BR /> Aims: The JWST spectroscopic observations of GN-z11, a well-known z = 10.6 star-forming galaxy, have been interpreted with the presence of a super-Eddington (Eddington ratio ≡ λ<SUB>Edd</SUB> ∼ 5.5) accreting MBH. To test this hypothesis, we used a zoom-in cosmological simulation of galaxy formation and BH co-evolution. <BR /> Methods: We first tested the simulation results against the observed probability distribution function (PDF) of λ<SUB>Edd</SUB> found in z ∼ 6 quasars. Then, in the simulation we selected the BHs that satisfy the following criteria: (a) 10 < z < 11, (b) M<SUB>BH</SUB> > 10<SUP>6</SUP> M<SUB>⊙</SUB>. Next, we applied the extreme value statistics to the PDF of λ<SUB>Edd</SUB> resulting from the simulation. <BR /> Results: We find that the probability of observing a z ∼ 10 − 11 MBH accreting with λ<SUB>Edd</SUB> ∼ 5.5 in the volume surveyed by JWST is very low (< 0.2%). We compared our predictions with those in the literature, and discussed the main limitations of our work. <BR /> Conclusions: Our simulation cannot explain the JWST observations of GN-z11. This might be due to: (i) poor resolution and statistics in simulations, (ii) simplistic sub-grid models (e.g. BH accretion and seeding), (iii) uncertainties in the data analysis and interpretation.STAMPAenArticle10.1051/0004-6361/2024493212-s2.0-85195684652https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2024/06/aa49321-24/aa49321-24.htmlhttp://arxiv.org/abs/2401.13733v22024A&A...686A.141BFIS/05 - ASTRONOMIA E ASTROFISICA