One new idea is that the very first black holes did not form from dead stars at all; instead, they formed directly from the collapse of huge amounts of gas. (kavlifoundation.org)
Date: December 26, 2015 Mass of first black hole: 14.2 solar masses Mass of second black hole: 7.5 solar masses Merged mass: 20.8 solar masses Energy radiated as gravitational waves: 1 solar mass Distance from Earth: 1.4 billion light - years (sciencenews.org)
A new supercomputer simulation designed to track the fate of the universe's first black holes finds that, counter to expectations, they couldn't efficiently gorge themselves on nearby gas. (imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov)