Electric discharges: Early growth of super-massive black holes

Abstract

We propose that early Super Massive Black Holes (SMBHs) grow at an enhanced Eddington rate facilitated by rotation. Recent theoretical work suggests that rotating Black Holes (BHs) can produce winds or jets carrying electric currents. These currents are driven by a pE−2 momentum spectrum of protons and anti-protons, which can reach EeV energies for near-maximal rotation — independent of the BHs mass. This electric current generated in the ergo-region leads to rapid collisions producing anti-particles and lots of pions. The associated electron population suffers extreme losses in the magnetic field observed, so that the protons, anti-protons, neutrons, anti-neutrons and pions altogether, carry a much larger mass/energy per electron than a single proton, while charge is conserved. This factor can be estimated, depends on the spin of the BH, and allows a significant enhancement of Eddington limited accretion. This effect is proposed to explain the rapid growth of early SMBHs observed by James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The prediction is that these SMBHs rotate rapidly. When compared with cosmological simulations of structure evolution with SMBH formation and evolution without allowing for BH rotation, a second testable prediction is that the gravitational waves produced in ensuing SMBH mergers are enhanced due to high rotation, with ensuing increased total mass. © 2026