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arXiv · 2604.19075

What is Powering the Enigmatic He II Emitter Hebe: The First Stars or Black Holes?

Junehyoung Jeon·Tae Bong Jeong·Saiyang Zhang·Volker Bromm
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Abstract

Recent high-resolution spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has confirmed the presence of a strong He II $\lambda1640$ emitting clump in the vicinity of GN-z11, with only upper limits on its metallicity. To explain the peculiar properties of this source, now termed Hebe, a cluster of metal-free, Population III (Pop III) stars has been invoked. A less likely source for the hard UV ionizing radiation could be an accreting supermassive black hole (SMBH) embedded inside Hebe. We here provide further constraints on what could power the observed emission lines in Hebe. Comparing with cosmological simulations of Pop III star cluster formation, we assess the maximum Pop III stellar mass that could plausibly form at the location of Hebe, finding stellar masses of a few $10^5\,M_{\odot}$, consistent with those inferred from the observations. Modeling the continuum spectral energy distribution arising from an accreting SMBH, we derive He II and H I ionizing rates and the resulting recombination line luminosities, providing a less natural fit for the combined observations. We thus confirm the interpretation of Hebe as a remarkable, primordial object, with the most plausible power source provided by a massive cluster of Pop III stars, at the limit of what is allowed within the standard model of first star formation.

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Junehyoung Jeon, Tae Bong Jeong, Saiyang Zhang, Volker Bromm. 2026-06-09. What is Powering the Enigmatic He II Emitter Hebe: The First Stars or Black Holes?. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19075

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