JWST has revealed an uncharted territory of the Universe and posed new challenges to theoretical models for galaxy formation & origin of SMBHs.
Copyright @NASA
High-redshift galaxies will obviously be a hot topic of astrophysical research in the next decade, with the development of key observational instruments (e.g. JWST, Roman). These open up new opportunities in understanding the formation and evolution of first generation of galaxies in the Universe, as well as new channels to study and constrain fundamental physics.
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are believed to play a crucial role in the evolution of galaxies and the Universe. When accreting matter, they manifest as the so-called active galactic nuclei (AGN) or quasars. These are the most luminous objects in the Universe and can cast non-trivial impact on the evolution of host galaxies and the phase transition of the entire Universe. However, the origin of these SMBHs is still a mystery and we could hopefully find the answer through observations of AGN at high redshifts.