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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Discover The Most Powerful Radio Galaxy In The Universe

Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of an extraordinary radio galaxy that existed when the universe was less than 1.2 billion years old. Named TXS 2354+015, this distant cosmic object may be the most powerful radio galaxy ever identified, offering scientists a rare opportunity to study the growth of supermassive black holes and massive galaxies in the early universe.

The discovery places TXS 2354+015 at a redshift of 4.946, meaning its light has traveled through space for approximately 12.5 billion years before reaching Earth. The research team, led by Barbara Balmaverde of the INAF Astrophysical Observatory of Turin, reported its findings in a paper posted on the arXiv preprint server on September 23, 2026.

Beyond its remarkable power, the galaxy's discovery also challenges the methods astronomers commonly use to find distant radio galaxies. It suggests that many powerful objects in the early universe may remain undiscovered because their properties do not match the usual search criteria.

What Makes a Radio Galaxy So Powerful?

At the center of many large galaxies lies a supermassive black hole, an object with a mass millions or even billions of times greater than the Sun.

When gas, dust, and other material fall toward a black hole, they form a rotating structure called an accretion disk. As the material heats up and releases enormous amounts of energy, it can power an active galactic nucleus, or AGN.

Some active galactic nuclei launch powerful jets of electrically charged particles, known as plasma, at speeds approaching the speed of light. These jets can travel far beyond the central regions of their host galaxies and produce intense radio emissions.

Galaxies with particularly strong radio emissions are known as radio-loud active galactic nuclei, or RLAGNs. Their jets can extend across enormous distances, making them some of the most energetic structures in the universe.

TXS 2354+015 belongs to this remarkable family. However, what makes it especially interesting is that it was already producing extraordinary radio emissions when the universe was still relatively young.

Why Ancient Radio Galaxies Matter

Studying galaxies from the early universe helps astronomers understand how the first massive galaxies formed and evolved.

Powerful radio galaxies are particularly valuable because they can mark regions where large galaxies and, potentially, galaxy clusters were developing. Their central black holes can also provide clues about how quickly matter accumulated during the universe's earliest stages.

These black holes do more than consume surrounding material. Their energy can affect the evolution of their host galaxies through a process called active galactic nucleus feedback.

As jets and other forms of energy interact with surrounding gas, they can heat or push that gas away. Since cold gas is an essential ingredient for forming new stars, this process can influence how rapidly a galaxy grows.

Scientists include these effects in computer simulations of cosmic evolution. Without an accurate understanding of feedback, simulations may struggle to reproduce the observed number and properties of galaxies.

Finding extremely powerful radio galaxies from the early universe therefore helps researchers test their ideas about galaxy formation, black hole growth, and the evolution of cosmic structures.

The Hidden Side of the Early Universe

Despite their importance, many ancient radio galaxies are difficult to discover.

The regions surrounding their central black holes can contain thick clouds of dust and gas. These materials absorb or block much of the ultraviolet and visible light coming from the central region, making the galaxy's most energetic activity difficult to observe directly.

Radio waves, however, can escape these obscured regions more easily, allowing astronomers to detect the powerful jets even when the central engine remains hidden.

A 2024 study suggested that as many as 90% of radio galaxies at redshifts greater than 3.5 might be obscured in ultraviolet and optical observations. If this estimate is representative of the population, conventional searches could be missing a substantial number of distant objects.

Astronomers have traditionally searched for radio galaxies using their radio spectra, including a characteristic called an ultra-steep spectrum. However, TXS 2354+015 does not meet the usual selection criteria.

This means that some powerful radio galaxies may be overlooked simply because their radio emissions do not fit the expected pattern.

How Scientists Found TXS 2354+015

To overcome this problem, the research team used a different strategy that combined optical images with existing radio surveys.

The astronomers examined deep optical observations from Subaru's Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program survey. They compared these images with radio catalogs, including the TIFR GMRT Sky Survey, which observes at 150 megahertz, and the Very Large Array Sky Survey, which observes at 3 gigahertz.

The researchers searched for radio sources whose optical counterparts displayed a sudden drop in brightness, a feature associated with extremely distant galaxies.

This approach is known as the Lyman-break technique.

As light travels through the universe, clouds of neutral hydrogen absorb much of the ultraviolet radiation emitted by distant galaxies. Because the universe is expanding, this absorption feature shifts toward longer wavelengths. At sufficiently large distances, it can appear as a sharp drop in the observed optical light.

By identifying this pattern, astronomers can select promising candidates for further investigation.

The team searched for potential radio galaxies at redshifts between 4.5 and 5.3, corresponding to a period when the universe was approximately 1.1 to 1.3 billion years old.

Among their candidates, TXS 2354+015 stood out.

Follow-up spectroscopy revealed a prominent Lyman-alpha emission line. The researchers also identified a second, fainter emission line, which helped independently confirm the distance measurement.

Together, these observations established a redshift of 4.946.

The team also checked whether the radio source and optical galaxy might simply appear aligned by chance. Their precise positional match, exceptionally strong radio emission, and expected relationship between radio and optical brightness supported the conclusion that they were observing the same object.

A Possible Record-Breaking Radio Galaxy

After confirming its distance, the researchers calculated the galaxy's intrinsic radio power. Their analysis indicated that TXS 2354+015 was more powerful than other high-redshift radio galaxies documented in the literature they examined.

Its estimated radio power at 500 megahertz exceeds that of the previous record-holder identified in an earlier census published in 2008.

The researchers therefore described TXS 2354+015 as apparently the most powerful radio galaxy known to date.

The team also estimated that its possible host galaxy could have a mass of around two trillion solar masses. If accurate, that would make it an exceptionally massive and luminous galaxy.

However, the researchers cautioned that this estimate contains substantial uncertainties, particularly because the age of the galaxy's stellar population is not yet firmly established. Further observations and analysis will be needed to better understand its host galaxy.

What This Discovery Means for Astronomy

The discovery of TXS 2354+015 has implications beyond identifying an exceptionally powerful cosmic object.

First, it provides an opportunity to investigate how massive black holes and galaxies developed during the universe's first billion years. Understanding how such systems became so energetic so early remains an important question in astronomy.

Second, it highlights a possible weakness in traditional radio-galaxy searches. Because this object was identified through its optical dropout signature rather than the usual ultra-steep-spectrum criteria, it demonstrates the value of combining different observational techniques.

Future surveys using powerful optical, infrared, and radio telescopes may uncover additional distant galaxies that previous methods overlooked.

Each new discovery will help astronomers build a more complete picture of the early universe and determine whether TXS 2354+015 is truly exceptional or simply the first of many similarly powerful objects waiting to be found.

Conclusion

TXS 2354+015 offers a remarkable glimpse into a universe that existed approximately 12.5 billion years ago. Its extreme radio power, enormous potential host-galaxy mass, and confirmed distance make it an important target for future research.

Perhaps its most significant contribution is the lesson it provides about discovery itself: even the most powerful objects in the cosmos can remain hidden when scientists look for them in only one way.

By combining radio observations with techniques that reveal distant, obscured galaxies, astronomers may uncover many more cosmic giants and gain a deeper understanding of how the universe's earliest massive structures came into existence.

Research reference: B. Balmaverde et al., The quest for high-redshift radio galaxies II. Discovery of the most powerful known radio galaxy at z=4.946, arXiv (2026). DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2609.28632.

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