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arXiv · 2601.18986

Progenitor of the recoiling super-massive black hole RBH-1 identified using HST/JWST imaging

Tousif Islam·Tejaswi Venumadhav·Digvijay Wadekar
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Abstract

Using a combination of \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} and \textit{James Webb Space Telescope} imaging, a runaway supermassive black hole (RBH-1) was recently identified with an inferred velocity of $954^{+110}_{-126}\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$, likely ejected from a compact star-forming galaxy (denoted as GX) at $z \approx 0.96$. Assuming the runaway black hole was the outcome of the gravitational-wave-driven merger of two black holes, we use its measured runaway velocity together with gravitational-wave recoil predictions from numerical relativity and black hole perturbation theory to constrain the mass ratio and spin configuration of the progenitor SMBHs that overcame the final-parsec problem and merged $\sim 70$~Myr ago. We find that the progenitor binary must have been precessing, with a mass ratio $m_1/m_2\lesssim 6$, and that the more massive SMBH must have possessed a high spin (dimensionless spin magnitude $\sim 0.75$) in order to generate a recoil of this magnitude. This has important astrophysical implications as similar SMBH mergers can be an interesting source population for the upcoming LISA mission with signal-to-noise ratios $\gtrsim$ 1000. Furthermore, the progenitor SMBH properties imply that GX was likely formed through a major, gas-rich (``wet'') merger between two galaxies of comparable mass, with a mass ratio $\lesssim 4$.

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Tousif Islam, Tejaswi Venumadhav, Digvijay Wadekar. 2026-06-18. Progenitor of the recoiling super-massive black hole RBH-1 identified using HST/JWST imaging. https://doi.org/10.1103/fm3n-sy3f

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