Raffaella Schneider

Raffaella Schneider is a professor of astrophysics at Sapienza University of Rome. Her primary research interest lies in understanding the nature of the first stars and black holes and how these cosmic sources shaped the earliest galaxies formed at cosmic dawn. She has explored these topics through theoretical models, utilizing both semi-analytical and numerical simulations. She and her team have been involved in interpreting JWST and ALMA observations of high-redshift sources, as well as guiding future observations in both electromagnetic and gravitational wave bands.

The first black holes revealed by JWST: Confirmation and Surprises

Understanding the nature of the first black holes and their growth mechanisms through gas accretion and mergers with other black holes are some of the most important open problems in modern astrophysics. The extraordinary discoveries of the JWST are allowing, for the first time, an extension of our exploration to much smaller mass black holes, reaching down to seed black holes, and understanding their relationship with their host galaxy and the physical conditions present in the nuclear regions. In this talk, I will provide a personal perspective on our current understanding of the origin and early growth of nuclear black holes in the first few hundred million years of cosmic history, highlighting how JWST observations have offered both confirmations and many surprises.