Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations have revealed a surprisingly abundant population of faint, dusty active galactic nuclei at z ≈ 4–7. Together with the presence of supermassive black holes at z > 6, this raises questions about the formation and growth histories of early black holes. Current theories for the formation of seed black holes from the death of the first stars (that is, light seeds) and/or the direct collapse of primordial gas clouds (that is, heavy seeds) still lack observational confirmation. Here we present LID-568, a low-mass (7.2 × 10⁶ M_⊙) black hole hosting powerful outflows that is observed in an extreme phase of rapid growth at redshift z ≈ 4. This object is similar to other JWST-discovered faint active galactic nuclei populations, but is bright in X-ray emission and accreting at more than 4,000% of the limit at which radiation pressure exceeds the force of gravitational attraction of the black hole (that is, super-Eddington accretion). Analysis of JWST Near-Infrared Spectrograph integral field unit data reveals spatially extended Hα emission with velocities of ~−600–−500 km s⁻¹ relative to the central black hole, indicative of robust nuclear-driven outflows. LID-568 represents an elusive low-mass black hole experiencing super-Eddington accretion as invoked by models of early black hole formation. This discovery showcases a previously undiscovered key parameter space and offers crucial insights into rapid black hole growth mechanisms in the early universe.

詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜 （JWST） 最近的观测显示，在 z 4-7 ≈，出现了数量惊人的大量暗淡、尘埃状的活跃星系核。再加上 z > 6 处超大质量黑洞的存在，这引发了关于早期黑洞的形成和生长历史的问题。目前关于第一颗恒星（即轻种子）死亡和/或原始气体云（即重种子）直接坍缩形成种子黑洞的理论仍然缺乏观测证实。在这里，我们介绍了 LID-568，这是一个低质量（7.2 × 10⁶M_⊙）黑洞，在红移 z ≈ 4 的快速增长的极端阶段观察到。这个天体类似于 JWST 发现的其他暗淡活跃的星系核群，但在 X 射线发射中很亮，并且在辐射压力超过黑洞引力的极限（即超爱丁顿吸积）的极限的 4,000% 以上时吸积。对 JWST 近红外光谱仪积分场单位数据的分析显示，相对于中心黑洞，Hα 发射的空间扩展速度为 ~−600–−500 km s⁻¹，表明核驱动的强劲流出。LID-568 代表一个难以捉摸的低质量黑洞，它正在经历早期黑洞形成模型所调用的超级爱丁顿吸积。这一发现展示了一个以前未被发现的关键参数空间，并为早期宇宙中黑洞的快速增长机制提供了重要的见解。