Super-Eddington growth ceiling: analytic constraints on the rapid growth of light-seed black holes in massive clumps

ABSTRACT The existence of $\sim 10^{7\!-\!8}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ supermassive black holes at $z\gtrsim 8$ challenges conventional growth channels. One attractive possibility is that light seeds ($M_{\rm BH}\lesssim 10^{3}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) undergo short, super-Eddington episodes when they cross, and are captured by, dense massive gas clumps. We revisit this ‘Black Hole (BH)-clump-capture’ model using analytic arguments supported by toy-model simulations that follow Bondi-scale inflow, radiative feedback, gas dynamical friction and the recently discovered forward acceleration effect caused by the ionized bubble. For substantial growth the black hole must remain trapped for many dynamical times, which imposes three simultaneous constraints. The clump must be heavier than the black hole (mass doubling condition); its cooling time must exceed the super-Eddington growth time (lifetime condition); and dynamical friction must dominate shell acceleration (BH-trapping condition). These requirements confine viable clumps to a narrow density–temperature region, $n_{\rm H}\simeq 10^{7\!-\!8}\ \mathrm{cm}^{-3}$ and $T\simeq (2\!-\!6)\times 10^{3}\ {\rm K}$, for a $10^{3}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ seed. Even inside this sweet spot a $10^{3}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ seed grow up at most $4\times 10^{3}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$; the maximum growth ratio $M_{\rm BH,fin}/M_{\rm BH}$ falls approximately as $M_{\rm BH}^{-0.4}$ and is negligible once $M_{\rm BH}\gtrsim 10^{4}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$. The forward-acceleration effect is essential, expelling the black hole whenever Bubble confinement fails. We conclude that BH-clump-capture model, and potentially broad super-Eddington models, cannot produce the $>10^{4}\ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ seeds required for subsequent Eddington-limited growth, suggesting that alternative pathways, such as heavy seed formation, remain necessary.