Winds of Cosmic Noon: How Quasar WISSH13 Halts Star Formation ✦

Original: "The WISSHFUL program: the highest redshift UFO discovered in a non-lensed QSO"

arXiv:2606.05312v1 · 2026-06-03 · CC BY · ⏱ 1 min · High Energy Galaxies

X-ray observations have detected record-breaking gas outflows at speeds up to a third of light—for the first time in such a distant quasar, revealing how black holes conduct the fates of galaxies.

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12 billion years ago, a black hole, devouring matter, ejected winds at a third the speed of light. These flows, like the hand of a cosmic conductor, halted the growth of a giant galaxy. Today, we catch the echo of that cataclysm and begin to understand: perhaps this is how the Universe regulates the birth of new stars. And, who knows, life on planets also depends on these invisible storms.

🎯 In just one Earth hour, WISSH13's fast wind covers 360 million kilometers—three times the distance from Earth to the Sun. For matter, such a speed (0.33c) is almost incredible, making it one of the fastest recorded cosmic flows.

🎬 The concept of ultrafast winds steering a galaxy's fate evokes the idea of a 'stellar vortex' from science fiction, where cosmic currents determine the destinies of worlds.

$$1+z_a = \sqrt{\frac{1+\beta}{1-\beta}},\quad \beta = v/c$$

Relation between the observed redshift of an absorption line (z_a) and the wind speed (v) in units of the speed of light (c)

$$\dot{M}_{out} = \Omega N_H m_p v_{out} r$$

Mass loss rate through the wind, where Ω is the covering factor, N_H is the column density, m_p is the proton mass, v_out is the speed, and r is the launch radius

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Winds of Cosmic Noon: How Quasar WISSH13 Halts Star Formation ✦