Cosmic Noon: Supermassive Black Holes Stifle Star Formation

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided new insights into the Cosmic Noon epoch, 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang, when galaxies grew and supermassive black holes (SMBHs) became luminous quasars. Using near-infrared data from JWST, astronomers observed over 100 galaxies from this period and found evidence that SMBH-driven outflows can rapidly remove cool gas from galaxies, starving them of fuel for star formation. This suggests that AGNs are responsible for shutting down star formation in massive galaxies, providing a better understanding of galaxy evolution.