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A quasi-star (also called black hole star) is a hypothetical type of extremely large and luminosity star that may have existed early in the history of the Universe. Unlike modern stars, which are powered by nuclear fusion in their cores, a quasi-star's energy would come from material falling into a black hole at its core. Due to their immense mass, they would have had a relatively short lifespan of around 7 to 10 million years.
Quasi-stars were first proposed in the 1960s; there has not yet been a confirmed observation, though potential sightings of these objects have been made by the James Webb Space Telescope since it was launched. The study of quasi-stars would provide valuable insight into the early universe, galaxy formation, and the behavior of black holes, namely because they are considered as possible progenitors of the supermassive black holes that formed soon after the Big Bang.
Once the black hole had formed at the core of a new quasi-star, it would continue generating a large amount of radiant energy from the infall of stellar material. This constant outburst of energy would counteract the force of gravity, creating an equilibrium similar to the one that supports modern fusion-based stars. Quasi-stars would have had a short maximum lifespan, approximately 7 to 10 million years, during which the core black hole would have grown to about .
As a quasi-star cooled over time, its outer envelope would become transparent, until further cooling to a limiting temperature of . This would mark the end of the quasi-star's life since there is no hydrostatic equilibrium at or below this limiting temperature. It would then dissipate without a supernova, leaving behind an intermediate-mass black hole. These intermediate-mass black holes are theorized as the progenitors of modern supermassive black holes, and would help explain how supermassive black holes formed so early in the history of the universe.
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